MLP: The Next Generation Vol II-The New Prophecy
by SportsMetalWWEandPonyFan2578
Summary: Sunlight Dawn is the newest royal princess, and she couldn't be happier. Her cousin Flurry Heart and she are inseparable, and she loves her family and Equestria. But a dark figure quickly returns to the land. Can Sunlight and Flurry save Equestria, or are they to be fed into the maelstrom? Read and review! Thanks, guys!
1. Prologue: Resurrection

A pitch black night reigned supreme over Equestria. The rebuilding land had seen its share of metaphorical night in the past few months, but this physical one was for the record books. Luna had risen the moon, but it was blotted out by the clouds that Cloudsdale furiously exuded. However, none of the Pegasi workers in the weather factory knew why they were pumping out clouds so quickly. The manager had received a letter from Celestia, but he too was at a loss. Their cloud machine had been malfunctioning for a few days, and the clouds cast a somber mood on the land during the day and a downright frightening mood at night.

It was into this night that Iron Wing, once the second-in-command of the greatest rebellion Equestria had ever known, now stepped. His wings were ragged and torn, his hooves ached, and the young colt coughed as he made his way through the darkness. But he was determined to reach his destination. He was on a self-imposed mission: rescue his beloved Midnight. She had died, yes, but he had received the means to revive her thanks to a disgruntled wizard of the dark arts.

_I will save you, my precious one, _he said to himself, _for you were right. The smartest and richest of ponies must be killed. I will be the one to raise you, my beloved, and then we shall rule Equestria. Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Twilight shall all die at our hooves. Then all that's left to do is kill that sister of yours, the wretched Sunlight, and Equestria will be ours. _

He sneered as he walked up to an iron fence. He stared up and could just barely make out a sign in the pale moonlight. "Ponyville Cemetery," he said out loud, "bingo." He quietly picked the lock with a feather and walked inside. His love for the young filly had only grown in the months since she had been killed by Twilight. His heart pounded in his chest as he thought of her beauty and strength. He was absolutely enamored with her, even building a secret area where he would go and stare endlessly at her picture. She had been amazing in her Ponita disguise, but his love for her and malice for Equestria had been made concrete when she turned back into Midnight Mare.

He strode through the graves, desecrating a couple of them for fun, before walking up to a large mausoleum. He smiled and went inside, searching for crypt number 34. "Soon, my darling," he said, "soon…" He finally reached the hole in the wall and used some of the wizard's magic dust to open it and gently set Midnight's casket down on the floor. "Now, Equestria, your doom is assured!" He said with triumph as he threw open the box.

He gazed down, hoping to see his beloved Midnight, but instead finding a half-decayed body with bugs crawling all over it. He jumped a bit and felt like vomiting, but swallowed it and continued in a determined, some might say crazed, manner. He quickly undid more of the dark magic dust that the wizard had left with him and scattered it around the casket. Then, he drew a mysterious circle on the floor before stepping back.

He recited a spell born out of evil itself, and the casket began to rise as the dust did its work. It flew around the room in a haunting way before dropping Midnight. The dust floated up to her and began restoring her. It restored her body, her heart, and her evil mind. When it was done, the dust scattered out of the window and to the furthest corners of Equestria, never to be seen again.

The filly groaned and opened her eyes. She looked up at Iron Wing, who smiled back down at her. "Hello, my dear," he said, "welcome back."

She looked around in confusion and then scoffed. "What took you so long?" She asked him, "we had a deal!"

"I know we had a deal, Midnight, but…you know…things come up."

"Horse crap!" She said sharply, "what an excuse. But…you were the only one to stick with me, even through the final battle with my putrid mother and her disgusting friends. So…I'll forgive you. But don't let it happen again!"

"I won't," Iron Wing said, "I promise I won't."

"Now…come here and kiss me, you sexy stallion!"

With that, they fell into each other and began making out excessively. What they had not told anypony was that they were engaged in an intense relationship all throughout Midnight's rampage. They had even gone so far as to make a deal that, should either one of them meet their doom, the other one would find a way to bring them back. After all, magic could accomplish anything, so who was to say it couldn't bring somepony back from the dead?

They finished their lustful activity and stood next to each other, looking out at the stars. "So, Midnight, what happens now?" Iron Wing asked.

"What happens?" She asked back, "I'll tell you what happens. We fight. We destroy my mother, her friends, and all Equestria! This time, we won't lose! We'll win, and all the rich, and smart, and friendly ponies of the land will know to fear our names!"

She howled in a shrill of laughter, and he followed suit. "We're back," he said creepily, "and nopony will stand in our way!"

"Indeed, my love, indeed," Midnight said, "now, here's the plan…"


	2. Rules, Seeds, and a Mystery

Sunlight Dawn ran around the castle, hot on the tail of her cousin, Flurry Heart. "I'm gonna get you!" She squealed happily as their impromptu game of tag continued. They had been playing hide-and-seek, but Flurry refused to admit that Sunlight had caught her. This led to a laugh filled wrestling episode, followed by the current pursuit.

"Oh, no you're not," Flurry called back. In the three years since Sunlight had been born, the love that Flurry had for her had only grown. The pair were completely inseparable. When Flurry and her family had to return to The Crystal Empire, the two would hold each other and cry and tell the other one how much they would miss them. But then Flurry, who was now much older and could ride the train by herself, would return to Ponyville and Sunlight would leap into her arms when she came.

The two dashed around a corner and nearly knocked over Twilight. The Princess of Friendship stumbled back a bit and then gave her daughter and niece a stern look. "Sunlight, what have I told you about running in the castle?"

"Sorry, Mommy," Sunlight responded, her ears drooping. She loved her mother very much, and she hated seeing her disappointed or upset. She always did her best to follow the rules her parents set for her, but it wasn't always easy. Sometimes she was pushed into doing things she knew were wrong.

"I'm sorry, Auntie Twily," Flurry said honestly, "it was my fault. I egged her on."

"It's OK, Flurry," Twilight said, "it's nothing major. I just don't want things getting broken, and your running could cause that. Now, has Sunlight done her magic lesson for the day?"

"Yes, Mommy, I did it."

"Good, then let's see it."

So Sunlight fired up her small horn and shot a magic blast at a nearby piece of paper. She quickly turned it into a small flower. "Very good, Sunlight!" Twilight said as she gave her daughter a hug, "I'm impressed. Now, remember what we've said. A good unicorn or, in your case, Alicorn knows when to use magic and when to keep it suppressed."

"I know, Mommy. I've been very careful."

"Yes, darling, you have. Now, run along and play with Flurry Heart some more. But remember not to run in the castle."

"Yes, Mommy," Sunlight said happily as she trotted off with her cousin. The two fillies went outside and began goofing around on the castle grounds. "I bet I can shoot a magic blast further than you can," Flurry challenged.

"Do you really think we should? I mean, Mommy just got through scolding us."

Flurry looked at the ground. Sunlight could tell she was deep in thought. She wondered if her Aunt Cadance and Uncle Shining Armor set the same sort of rules for Flurry back in The Crystal Empire. "I guess you're right," Flurry finally said, "after all, the rules are meant to be followed and I wouldn't want to get you in trouble again so soon. I guess we'll have to find something else to do."

They walked around the grounds for a few minutes, stopping to admire the freshly bloomed roses in the garden. Flurry decided to test Sunlight's knowledge a bit. "Sunlight, where do you suppose flowers come from?" She asked.

"Well, Flurry, there's a seed that's planted there, and that seed grows into the flower you see."

"How does it do that?"

"Well, I don't know the entire process, but I do know that it takes a lot of water, sunlight, and tender, loving care on the part of the gardener."

"That's right," Flurry said, "my goodness, you're getting smart. How did you do on your Mom's last math test?"

"I got them all right. Exponents are particularly frustrating, but doing common algebra is becoming easier."

Flurry smiled. Sunlight had inherited her mother's brain, and it showed. For being a three-year-old filly, she was extremely intellectual. Her mother had taken to homeschooling her almost from the day she brought her home. The things she had learned about the world were incredible, and she was making some discoveries on her own, as well.

"Flurry?"

"Yes, Sunlight?"

"Why did you ask me that?"

"Oh, come now, Sunlight. You know I enjoy asking you questions about things and putting that big brain to the test."

"Oh. I figured you'd asked me that expecting some kind of metaphor about life."

"Well, maybe there is a metaphor in there somewhere. Like, if you plant a seed and don't nurture it, then it will die, or if you nurture it incorrectly, then it will grow into something that's ugly and twisted."

"Like my sister…" Sunlight said as her voice trailed off sadly. Flurry pulled the young one close and held her gently. It had been four years since Midnight had died, and Sunlight still didn't understand just why her mother had to do what she did. Flurry saw Sunlight shed a few tears and held her closer.

"I know," she said softly, "I know it hurts. But Midnight was an evil, vicious filly and she had to be dealt with."

"But, Flurry, I still don't understand why! I mean, I could've had a sister!" Sunlight wailed as she finally broke down. "Why did Mommy have to kill her?! Why couldn't she have just thrown her in jail?!"

Flurry ran a soothing hoof through Sunlight's purple mane. "Putting Midnight in prison wouldn't have changed her. For some ponies, prison does change them. But for Midnight, only the grave was a suitable punishment."

"You say that like it's no big deal! It's a huge deal! I want my sister back!"

Flurry realized that her tone of voice made it seem like it wasn't important to her. "I'm sorry, Sunlight," she said, "you're right. It is a big deal for you. But that doesn't change the fact that Auntie Twily did what had to be done to save Equestria."

Sunlight buried her small face in Flurry's flank and continued weeping. She loved her mother so much. She just couldn't comprehend her being so harsh, especially to her own daughter. Her weeping intensified and Flurry did what she could to comfort her. She was worried that Sunlight would begin causing herself harm if she continued.

"Sunlight, you have to calm down! Please! You're gonna hurt yourself if you keep carrying on like this."

"I don't care!" A distraught Sunlight wailed, "I want my sister back!"

"I know, but that just can't be done. I have yet to hear of a magic powerful enough to raise the dead. I'm sorry, but…it's just the way it has to be."

Sunlight turned and looked into her older cousin's kind face. She had always wanted a sister, and Flurry was almost like that. After all, when Flurry visited, the two of them never went anywhere without each other. Whether it was the store, the school, the castle, you name it, they did it together.

"Flurry?"

"Yeah?"

"Could I…could I consider you my big sister?"

Flurry chuckled, "if you want. We are kind of like sisters, aren't we?"

Sunlight beamed. She threw her forelegs around her cousin in an embrace born of warmth and love. "Thank you…big sister," she said.

"You're welcome…little sister," Flurry replied, going along with Sunlight. "So, Sunlight, what do you wanna do now?"

"Let's go out by the forest and see if we can spy any quail! I hear there's one or two nests back there."

"Alright, let's do it."

So the two fillies, happy in their newfound, albeit fake sisterhood, trotted towards the back of the castle grounds. The cool green grass of spring spoke of the new life that Equestria had been experiencing over the past two years, and it felt good under their hooves. "Ah," Flurry said, "I just love new grass, don't you?" Sunlight nodded as they walked along, but remained silent. Flurry noticed her eyes darting this way and that. _She's looking for those quail nests, _she told herself.

Suddenly, Flurry stopped as they emerged from the grassy field and found themselves on the dirt path that led through The Everfree Forest. Sunlight knew better than to go in there, so she turned and made her way along the edge. Then, she stopped again. Flurry, not paying attention to where she was going, ran into her rump.

"Sorry, Sunlight," she said, "are you alright?"

Sunlight didn't respond, but stood there with her mouth open. She bent down and picked up a small piece of paper sitting next to some hoof tracks. Flurry came up beside her and they both peered down at it. "What do you think it is?" Sunlight asked. "I haven't the foggiest idea," Flurry responded. Sunlight quietly used her magic to open it and they scanned through it.

"It's all the names of Mommy's friends!" Sunlight exclaimed

"Yeah, but there's bit totals across from them. Look. 'Applejack….40,000 bits. Rainbow Dash…50,000 bits.'"

"What do you think it means?"

"I don't know, but we'd better show this to Auntie Twily right away. Look! She has the highest bit total of all!"

Sunlight's mouth dropped open even wider than before. Her mother was valued on the paper at 50 million bits. She didn't know what the paper meant, but she was definitely worried. She and Flurry turned and began racing back to the castle, determined to show the paper to Twilight and solve this mystery.


	3. A Plot Uncovered

Meanwhile, Starlight Glimmer tidied up her office in the School of Friendship. It had been a long and, frankly, exhausting semester and she was glad that the summer months were rapidly approaching. Then she could get some well earned rest and relax some. _Maybe I could take a solo vacation to Las Pegasus or Baltimare. Yes! Baltimare! I hear they have an even more impressive harbor than the last one! Or maybe…Manehattan! They've jumped in tourism since the rebuild. _

As she pondered these things, she raced around her office, sweeping things here and straightening books there. Even though there were still another two weeks before final exams, she just couldn't wait any longer. Her office had been building up quite the layer of dust over the preceding weeks and she had been way too busy to clean it.

The School of Friendship had been bustling all that year. Ever since Midnight was laid to rest, scores and scores of creatures had been sending their young ones to learn about friendship. In fact, the demand was so high for a spot in the school, that Starlight had created a waiting list 15 pages long. She supposed that this was a good thing, but still. It was a hefty load to keep up with.

But she was grateful for the position she held, and even more so since she found out she and Twilight were sisters. They had been simply inseparable. Just like Sunlight and Flurry Heart, they went everywhere and did everything together. They also had many long talks about their friendship, and now they finally understood why they connected on such a deep level. The hugs and words they shared seemed to be so much more personal.

Starlight stopped hurrying for a moment and looked at a framed photograph that rested on her desk. The bottom said "Sisters and Best Friends," and it was a picture of she and Twilight at Las Pegasus the previous summer. She smiled as she used her magic to float the picture over to her. She gave it a thoughtful and loving look. It didn't matter that, technically, they were only half-sisters. To her, they would always be full blooded sisters. She loved Twilight more than anypony she had ever known, and she would always have her back.

Suddenly, the door behind her opened. Twilight stepped in. "Reminiscing?" She asked. Starlight quickly set the photo down and turned to meet the visitor, blushing as she did so. "Just a little bit," she said sheepishly. Twilight maneuvered beside her and the two looked at the photo together. They both smiled.

"Remember how much fun we had?" Starlight asked.

Twilight nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"You know, I was thinking of taking a solo vacation this summer. But I think I'd much rather take another sister trip with you."

Twilight lit up. "Oh, that'd be so much fun, Starlight! I'd love to!"

"Great! How's the first weekend in July sound?"

"Oh," Twilight said as she deflated a bit, "I actually have the annual Friendship Summit in Canterlot that weekend. But I'm free the next weekend!"

"Alright, we'll plan on it, then. But that's not why you came in here. So…what's up?"

Twilight quickly produced the piece of paper that Sunlight and Flurry Heart had shown her. Starlight used her magic to unroll it and flip through it. Her eyes scanned through the names and bit totals, and she was a bit shocked to find that she was the second most valuable pony on the list at 25 million bits. Then she gasped as her mind went to a very dark place.

"What do you think it means?" Her sister asked.

Starlight grimaced and turned to Twilight, "I don't think I know what it means, I know that I know what this means. Twilight, we have to warn Applejack!"

"Applejack? What the hay does she have to do with anything?"

"Twilight, this is a hit list! If we don't warn her, whoever wrote this is going to kill her!" In a flash, Starlight was transported back to her visions when Midnight was a filly. She saw the lake of blood again, and in it, Applejack's head bobbed lifeless. Could this be a fulfillment of that vision?

"We've got to move!" She said urgently.

"Wait," Twilight said, "look, nopony's gonna do something like that."

"That's what you said about Midnight, and look what happened!"

Twilight opened her mouth to argue back, but then realized her sister was absolutely right. The belief and complete trust she had in her fellow pony had been shaken with Midnight's wrath. But, still. A hit list? It just seemed so…drastically evil. Even in an Equestria that had known that a filly's unbridled rampage could rain fire down from the heavens, she still found it extremely hard to accept Starlight's explanation. The evidence was concrete, yet it was still unbelievable.

She sighed. "You're right, Starlight. If we're gonna warn her, we'd better do it fast. That hit pony could be anywhere!"

So she and her sister raced out of the school and dashed down the main street of Ponyville. They made their way over to Sweet Apple Acres. When they galloped through the gate, they nearly ran over Big Mac. He stumbled backward a bit and turned to face the mares. "Sorry, Big Mac!" Twilight said, "but, we're looking for Applejack. Is she free?"

"Yep."

"Is she in the barn?"

"Yep."

"Thanks, Big Mac!"

"Yep!" He said as he walked off to continue his chores.

Starlight watched him go with an air of curiosity. Ever since she had arrived in Ponyville, she wondered whether or not Big Mac said anything other than that one line. True, she had cast a small spell on him to force him to talk, but that brought the wrath of Applejack down on her and she knew never to do that again.

She and Twilight made their way into the barn and found their orange friend. "Howdy, y'all!" Applejack greeted cheerfully. "What can I do fer ya?"

"It's more like what we can do for you," Starlight said. She proceeded to show Applejack the hit list and warn her about it. "I know this seems unbelievable," Starlight finished, "but you'd probably better watch your back for the next few days. Whoever wrote this is liable to be just about anywhere and do just about anything. Shame isn't a factor here. They will kill you in broad daylight if they get the chance."

"Wait, how the hay do you know so much about this here hit list?" Applejack asked.

"Because I knew a pony back in Sire's Hollow who was just like this. I tried talking her out of it, but she went out and killed three other ponies for money. Thankfully, she was caught by the authorities and thrown in jail for years."

"Starlight…do you think it's possible she's broken out of prison?" Twilight asked, "after all, with the rebuilding of Equestria over the past few years, they've had to transport prisoners constantly. Maybe she broke free and went into hiding."

Starlight gasped as she realized Twilight had a good point. Maybe her old acquaintance had broken free from her bonds. If that was the case, then everypony on this list was in terrible danger. The pony she was referring to was excellent with her horn, and could fire a lethal magic blast from hundreds of yards away. She was precise, and precision in this case was very deadly. If they didn't find her, they could all be dead within the week.


	4. The First Hit

Sunlight and Flurry weren't let in on just how much of a problem the little piece of paper they found was. Their curiosity spiked, leading them to do things they wouldn't normally have done. They would sneak around the castle when Flurry visited, trying to eavesdrop on the bigger ponies and hear just what it was. But they tried not to ask out loud, for fear of getting into trouble.

But Sunlight just couldn't help herself. Like her mother, she was so inquisitive about the world around her. Her brain flowed constantly with questions about topics as far apart as horseshoes, saddlebags, and where foals came from. Ah, yes, that was one of the biggest questions she had. Where exactly did foals come from? Her little mind wondered and wondered, but she was nervous about asking such a huge question to her mother or father.

So one day she went to Flurry Heart. "Flurry, you're old enough to know a cacophony of facts. Tell me, where exactly do foals originate from?"

Flurry giggled a bit at her cousin's huge vocabulary, then stopped short. _Wait…that's the same question I asked Mom and Dad back when Midnight was born! They looked completely freaked out when I asked it! How do I answer…? _

"Uh…" she stammered out loud, "don't you think you should ask Auntie Twily about that?" 

"No, Mommy would probably dodge it. But you're my cousin and you know EVERYTHING!" She gave Flurry an extremely adorable look that spoke volumes. Flurry stumbled back a bit, trying to resist it, but finding it impossible. Sunlight's small blue eyes bore holes through her brain. "Ugh, alright, I'll tell you. But you've got to promise not to tell anypony I told you!"

"I promise!"

Flurry then proceeded to explain, in graphic detail, the process of a mare and a stallion falling in love and having foals together. Sunlight's small mouth fell open as Flurry went on and on and on. She gave Sunlight the exact lecture her father had given her on the subject, and Sunlight had about the same reaction to it. Flurry saw her cousin's eyes grow wide.

"So…the stallion and mare…they…really…do that?"

Flurry nodded. "But that seems so…I mean, it's…" Sunlight stumbled over her words. She couldn't believe that something like that could ever occur! Her small mind was completely blown, and she looked up at Flurry. _She's so lucky, _the small one thought, _she's old enough to know about things like that. But I'm sorry I asked. I just don't understand it at all! _

"Does that clear things up?" Flurry asked. Sunlight nodded out of sheer instinct. Truth be told, she didn't get it at all and things had never been muddier! She decided she would ask her mother about it when she was a little older. _I may be really smart, but I just don't understand how that kind of love works, I guess. _

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by a shriek of fear and anguish. "HELP!" Somepony cried, "HELP! PRINCESS TWILIGHT! PRINCE FLASH! HELP, PLEASE!"

"That sounds like Mrs. Cake!" Sunlight squeaked as she and Flurry began running back towards the source of the sound. They raced around the castle corner to find Mrs. Cake sobbing and pounding on the door with her hooves. Sunlight raced up to her.

"Mrs. Cake! What's wrong?!"

"Oh, thank Celestia you're here, Princess Sunlight! Where's your Mommy and Daddy?! I need them immediately!"

Sunlight nodded and said, "I'll get her!" With that, she raced around the other castle corner and bounded across the bridge to the School of Friendship. She knew that her father was in the middle of teaching his class on the history of Equestrian friendship, so she thought she would go see her mother first.

She found Twilight busily grading papers in her office. "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" She squealed as she burst through the door. Her mother dropped the papers and raced to her side. "What is it, Sunlight?! Are you hurt?! Is Flurry hurt?!"

"No, Mommy!" The foal said urgently, "it's Mrs. Cake! She's pounding on the castle door and screaming for you and Daddy to help her!"

Twilight looked up frantically, trying desperately to find somepony to watch the school so she could take care of the problem. Thankfully, Starlight trotted by. "Starlight!" Twilight said, "I need you to watch the school! It's extremely urgent!"

"Alright, Twi, I'd be glad to," her sister responded with a smile. "Thanks!" Twilight said as she put Sunlight on her back and galloped out of the room. They sped across the schoolyard until they came face-to-face with an absolutely insane Mrs. Cake.

"Mrs. Cake! What's wrong?!" Twilight asked, "is Pinkie OK?! What about Mr. Cake?!"

"Mr. Cake's gone to the hospital to fetch more help, but I think it's too late!" She responded, bursting into tears. Twilight stepped over and tried to soothe the sobbing baker. "It's alright, Mrs. Cake. It's alright."

"NO, IT'S NOT!" Mrs. Cake suddenly screamed, "PINKIE PIE IS DEAD!"

Twilight gasped and her eyes welled up with tears. "What?" She asked in shock, "no…Pinkie can't be dead! She just took her lunch break from the school! She just finished teaching her 3rd period class! Wha…I…HOW?!"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Mrs. Cake wailed in despair. Twilight put Sunlight on the ground and turned to her. "Sunlight, go play with Flurry Heart."

"But, Mommy…"

"I said, go," her mother said sternly. Sunlight backed up and walked sadly over to where Flurry was. What had happened? Was their friend Pinkie really gone? Why had her mother spoken to her so roughly? Once again, she turned to her cousin for answers. "Flurry…did I do something wrong?"

Flurry chuckled. "Of course not, Sunlight. You didn't do anything wrong. But you have to understand that there are times when adults need to do things that foals don't understand and they need to do them quickly. This is one of those times. That's why she spoke to you that way."

Seeing Sunlight's disappointed look, she continued. "I know you wanted to know everything that was going on, but I guess some things you don't need to know about. Still, though, I would like to confirm that what Mrs. Cake said is actually real."

"She was screaming like that and you still wanna confirm it? Plus, why would she lie about Pinkie being dead?"

"I don't know," Flurry said, "it just all seems extremely coincidental. Anyway, I'd just like to be sure. Come on! Let's go check Sugarcube Corner!"

Sunlight perked up and nodded, eager to see everything that was going on. She wasn't trying to disobey her mother's order, but her small mind quivered with excitement. She hardly ever got to go on adventures, and this seemed like an excellent opportunity to spend more time with Flurry. After all, the two of them were best friends, weren't they?

So, with this reasoning going through her mind, she galloped off after her older cousin. They ran along the main street of Ponyville until they got to Sugarcube Corner. They ran inside and up to the counter. "It's so strange," Sunlight remarked, "I'm so used to seeing Pinkie's smiling face on the other side of this."

Flurry nodded silently as she crept around the corner, looking for anything to corroborate Mrs. Cake's story. She stopped and gasped. Sunlight, peering around Flurry's flank, gasped as well. There, lying dead on the floor with blood pouring out of multiple wounds, was Pinkie Pie.


	5. The Investigation Begins

Suddenly, a noise of galloping hooves was heard. Flurry and Sunlight quickly raced into the back room of the store and hid among a group of flour sacks. They peeked out, trying to see who could have been galloping so hard. They waited for a few minutes, but nothing happened. Sunlight turned to her cousin. "Maybe they were just running past the store," she said. Flurry shook her head and pointed with a hoof. Sunlight looked and saw her mother, father, aunt, and the Cakes enter the store.

They walked around the counter and saw Pinkie's dead body. Her blood quickly dried around the wounds that had been inflicted. It looked as if she had been shot with something. She didn't appear to have known what hit her. The way her body was sprawled out was exactly the way it would have been if she had been standing at the counter, helping a customer.

Twilight quickly burst into tears and buried her face in her husband's shoulder. "Why?" She sobbed, "why Pinkie? Why her? Who could want to hurt somepony so innocent? Why?!"

Starlight offered a comforting hoof to her sister's mane. "I don't know," she answered honestly. She was at a complete loss. Her mind was filled with questions. Was this the job of the writer of that hit list? Was it the same pony she had known back in Sire's Hollow? Her mind became entangled in a mess of flashes to her vision of the lake of blood. This time, she saw Pinkie's body floating there and an ominous voice spoke. "One down, five to go," it said.

"We have to get Twi back to the castle," Flash said, "and can somepony please find Flurry and Sunlight? Those two wander more than a lost cow." So he helped Twilight from the store and Starlight went to search Ponyville for the princess and her cousin. The Cakes searched all over their store for the two of them, but to no avail. The fillies hid themselves very well within the sacks and the Cakes soon gave up and left to help Starlight.

Among the sacks, the two fillies chuckled at Flash's comparison. "A lost cow? Really, Daddy?" Sunlight asked sarcastically, "I've heard better comparisons in my sleep." Their jovial mood turned sad as they remembered just how serious of a situation this was. "Maybe now isn't a good time for laughing," Flurry remarked. Sunlight nodded in response.

"But it is a good time for an investigation!" Flurry said. Sunlight lit up. She loved to investigate things. Her mind was a factory of curiosity and she wanted to employ every bit of her knowledge to find the culprit behind this particular crime. "Yeah," she exclaimed softly, "let's find the perp and bring them to justice!"

So they quietly crept from their hiding place and walked over to the dead pony. Sunlight felt like crying, but she kept a stiff upper lip. After all, Flurry wasn't crying. She was dead serious as she examined the body, looking for any kind of clue that might lead them to the perpetrator. Flurry looked at the two wounds Pinkie had incurred. One was in her abdomen and the other was right on the jugular vein in her neck.

"Hm…" she said thoughtfully, "hey, Sunlight. Come here and look at this." So the young princess trotted back around and stood next to her cousin. "Look at the shape of these wounds," Flurry said. So Sunlight did. They were absolutely perfect circles. "OK, so they're circles. What's so big about that?" Sunlight asked.

"That means Pinkie didn't put up a fight," Flurry said, "nopony could have inflicted these so easily if they were in a struggle with her."

"But it's Pinkie," Sunlight said, "I'm not even sure she knows how to fight!"

Flurry realized Sunlight was right. She had been visiting Ponyville for quite some time now and had come to know her aunt's friends as her own. Pinkie was a pony who was built for two things: laughter and parties. She performed her role in Ponyville very well. She was always there to make somepony smile who was feeling down. Heck, she even had her own song about it! But fighting was a bit of a stretch for her.

"You make a good point, Sunlight," Flurry said, "but…"

"But what?"

"Don't you think that Pinkie would have at least struggled if she knew her life was in danger?"

Sunlight thought that proposition over for a minute. Yes, it was true that even a pony as physically inferior as Pinkie Pie would have put up some kind of a fight if they knew their life was at stake. But what she couldn't come to terms with was the concept of Pinkie Pie being violent. Pinkie just wasn't like that!

"Yeah, she might have at least flailed a bit or thrashed about and tried to get away from her attacker."

"So we can say with confidence that Pinkie did not put up any kind of fight here, right?"

"Right"

"OK, now we need to search the surrounding area for clues."

So the two fillies began looking throughout the store for anything that might help them. They searched throughout the aisles filled with baked goods and sweet smelling treats, but nothing came to them. They went upstairs and searched Pinkie's room. Flurry went through the drawers and Sunlight peered under the bed. "Ah-ha!" Sunlight suddenly squeaked, "I found something!"

She pulled out a locked book and threw it up on the bed. Flurry trotted over and read the title. "The Diary of Pinkamena Diane Pie?" The two fillies looked at each other oddly. "I never realized that Pinkie had such a long name!" Sunlight exclaimed. "Me neither, but we don't have time to discuss that now," Flurry remarked. Sunlight nodded and quickly used her magic to break the lock. They flipped through the pages. "Look for the most recent entries," Flurry said, "that might give us some kind of clue."

They continued flipping until they got to the entry from the day before. "Here we go!" Sunlight said as she began reading, "Saturday, June 8th. Dear Diary, today I had the yummiest cake the Cakes have ever baked! Oh! That kinda rhymes! I LOVE RHYMING! RHYMING PARTY! OK, that's enough of that. But I also wanted to say that a strange pony followed me around town today. She was wearing a cloak, so I couldn't make out her face, but she was definitely following me. One time, she got so close that I could hear her muttering something about the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Stop!" Flurry suddenly said, "Sunlight, didn't you tell me that Zecora gave your mother a new prophecy when you were born?"

Sunlight's mouth fell open. "That's right! She said 'beware the Summer Sun in three summers,' or something like that. But I'm three years old! That's this year!"

The two fillies looked at each other with their mouths agape as they realized that a prophecy could be unfolding before their very eyes. They wondered if Pinkie's sudden demise had something to do with it. Whoever was behind this was either very coincidental or they had a deathly knowledge of the prophecy. What was worse, they could be after the two of them!

"Sunlight," Flurry said, "we have to find this cloaked pony." Sunlight nodded and the two of them raced downstairs and out the front door. They were turning to head back for the castle when Apple Bloom suddenly raced by them. "HELP! HELP! MY SISTER'S BEEN MAGICALLY SHOT!" She exclaimed.


	6. The Second Hit

A/N: For those of you wondering, yes, in my universe they do have summer school at Twilight's School of Friendship, so that's why Sunlight found her there a couple chapters ago. I realized that that little plot point wasn't explained very well, and I do apologize for that. I hope y'all are enjoying the story so far! Without further ado, I give you one of the saddest chapters I've ever written. Be prepared. Enjoy.

Flurry and Sunlight quickly raced from Sugarcube Corner and dashed down the road towards Sweet Apple Acres. They didn't know what they would find there, and they both dreaded finding out. The summer sun beat down on them, creating sweat as fast as their hooves churned up the dust and dirt on the road. Their collective fear was insatiable, and it ate them up as quickly as they ate up the mile or so it took to get to Applejack's farm.

They ran into the big red barn and looked around for Applejack. Having no luck there, they ran throughout the orchard, calling her name desperately. They hoped that the wounds might have been minor and she would be able to respond. "APPLEJACK!" They cried over and over again, but heard no reply.

"Oh, Flurry…" Sunset said tensely. Her cousin gave no reply and they continued through the orchard, but their methods had changed. They were no longer calling her name, but instead they were looking for her dead body. The two fillies gagged and choked at the thought of seeing another deceased friend, but yet here they were looking. _First Pinkie, now Applejack, _Sunlight thought, _this is the worst day of my life!  
_

They finally found Applejack among the trees, clinging to a shred of life. They breathed a sigh of relief as they quickly went to work administering some small medical assistance. "Help me, Sunlight!" Flurry said sharply as she pressed on one of Applejack's wounds. Blood flowed freely and she knew they had to stop it. She had read in one of her books where the hero of the story was wounded and the mare he was saving had to help him by stopping the bleeding.

"Sunlight, we need to make a tourniquet!"

"What the hay's a tourniquet?!" Sunlight squeaked. Even with all her knowledge, she had no idea what her cousin was talking about.

"It's something to help stop the flow of blood through the body. Now go get me a rag or a strip of cloth or something like that, and hurry! Hurry! We may be able to save her!"

Sunlight ran back through the trees and into the barn, her eyes darting back and forth looking for something to use. She finally found an old rag next to some of Applejack's tools. "Bingo!" She said out loud as she used her magic to float the rag above her head. She ran back to the scene and gave the rag to Flurry. Her cousin quickly used her own magic to tear it apart and tie it above Applejack's wounds.

The bleeding stopped, but they continued to hold pressure on it. "Thank goodness Apple Bloom was screaming like she was," Sunlight said, "now maybe the pony medics can get here and help her."

Flurry nodded when suddenly a groan was heard. Applejack tried to turn her head and address the young fillies, but Flurry kept it down with a hoof. "No, Applejack," she said, "if there's one thing I remember from when my Daddy taught me about helping hurt victims, it's to never let them move their head or neck. You might be terribly injured in that area and we don't want to make it worse."

Applejack conceded to Flurry's request and kept her head still. "Sunlight, are you there, sugar cube?" She asked softly. "Yes, I'm here, Applejack!" Sunlight replied. She fought through her tears and tried to remain strong for the injured farmer. But it was extremely difficult. She and Applejack shared a special bond, for Applejack had been something of a foal sitter for her when she was very small. Sunlight recalled the games Applejack used to play with her, and how much fun they always had together. She loved Applejack and always thought of her as a second mother.

"Applejack…please…" she said. She looked down and noticed Applejack smiling. "I may not be able to move this noggin of mine," she drawled, "but I can tell ya exactly what I see in ya. I see somepony who's gonna be one hay of a Princess of Friendship one day. Yer Ma and yer Pa should be powerful proud of ya. I know I am."

Sunlight couldn't hold it in any longer. She began sobbing and lay her head on Applejack's. "There, there, sugar cube," Applejack said through her pain, "it's gonna be okay."

"No, it's not!" Sunlight sobbed, "you're gonna…you're gonna…" She couldn't finish her sentence and just sobbed into Applejack's orange coat. The farmer wanted so desperately to comfort the foal, but she couldn't move her head or her hooves. But she could still use her words.

"Listen, sugar cube, you've gotta press on and do what needs to be done, even without me there with you. I know you consider me a close friend, and I consider you a powerful one as well. But I'm about to rest next to my own Ma and Pa, and I'm ready for it. I've lived a good life. I've had the most wonderful family and friends to enjoy it with. I'm sorry, sugar cube, but it's my time."

"No! It's not your time!" Sunlight wailed, "there's so much more that you could experience!"

"So go and experience it for me," Applejack said, "and enjoy it. 'Cause there ain't nothin' worse than livin' a life with regrets. I have none. I'm so glad I got to know you and Flurry, too. Tell yer Ma I love her and yer Pa, too. They're two of the truest friends I ever did know; and, Sunlight…I love you, too, sugar cube."

"I love you, Applejack" Sunlight said softly as Applejack closed her eyes and went to sleep forever. Sunlight backed away as her mane and tail drooped. She couldn't cry. She couldn't do anything. The loss in front of her was so deep and so cutting that all she could do was sit there. Her heart ached for Applejack.

She looked up and saw tears in Flurry's eyes as well. Suddenly, she became very angry with her cousin. She got up and went and smacked her with a hoof. "OW!" Flurry yelled, "what the hay was that for?!"

"You said that tourniquet would stop the bleeding! You said we could save her!"

Flurry quickly grasped her cousin in an embrace, trying to tell her that she wasn't alone in this situation. "Let me go, Flurry!" Sunlight squeaked indignantly. "I'm not gonna do that," Flurry responded, "I never said we could save her. I said we MIGHT save her. I never made any guarantees! Look, I'm just as sad and upset as you are that she's gone. Do you really think I wanted this to happen?! No! I never wanted this! We had already lost one good friend today. Do you think I wanted to lose another one?!"

Sunlight looked up at her cousin with tear stained eyes. Had she really lashed out at her, even after she had done everything she could to save Applejack? She buried her face in Flurry's coat, sobbing as she did so. Flurry put her head down around her cousin's. "I'm so sorry, Sunlight," she whispered, "but I swear I did everything I could."

"I know," Sunlight whispered back, "I'm sorry I hit you. It was wrong. But I just miss her so much…"

"I know you do," Flurry said, "but you've gotta work past this. Applejack wouldn't have wanted you behaving this way."

Sunlight sniffled and nodded. She knew that Applejack would've been disappointed with her reaction. She had smacked her best friend out of grief and anger and still the heartache continued. She didn't know if she could find the words to describe it, so she sat there and sobbed into Flurry's coat. The cousins held each other and silently mourned. It was all they could do.


	7. Discovering Clues

Flurry softly let Sunlight go as she walked around Applejack's body. "Do you think Apple Bloom got anypony to come?" Sunlight asked as she sniffled. Flurry nodded. "I'm sure she did," she said, "with the way she was screaming and hollering, somepony's sure to come soon."

So the two fillies waited. While they did so, they began investigating that scene for anything that might tie the killing back to the cloaked pony mentioned in Pinkie's diary. They searched around the base of the trees and all throughout the barn, but they found nothing. Not one clue made itself known to them, and they regrouped around Applejack's body.

Sunlight sighed. "Nothing. Not a single clue. I fear that we're running around in circles with this. But now that Applejack's dead, I want to catch this evil pony more than anything! Oh, Flurry, we've just gotta find something!"

Flurry looked deep in thought. "You're right, Sunlight. We have to find something. A criminal always leaves clues, no matter how masterful they may be. A slightly cracked window, a piece of paper, even a small string. They all could play huge roles in who the perp might be." Suddenly, the filly got a very determined look. "And we're going to find them," she said.

The strength in her tone of voice surprised Sunlight, who jumped a bit. "Wow, Flurry," she said, "I wish I knew how to speak like that." Flurry chuckled and pulled her cousin close in a hug. "I don't know where that came from," she said, "but I do know this. I have faith that we'll find whoever did these horrible things and bring them to justice."

"So do I!" Sunlight suddenly squeaked. The two fillies looked at each other and then at Applejack. "For Applejack," Sunlight said determinedly. "For Pinkie," Flurry added in the same tone. "FOR EQUESTRIA!" They both suddenly shouted.

"What's all the commotion about?" A voice asked. The fillies jumped a bit and turned to see Flash, Starlight, and Twilight standing there with Apple Bloom. They all gasped when they saw Applejack's dead body behind Flurry and Sunlight. "No…" Twilight said, "…not Applejack! Not her!"

Apple Bloom ran over and threw herself on her sister, weeping and wailing as she did so. Flash stepped over to his daughter and niece. "What happened?" He asked calmly. He didn't want to believe that these two could be the ones responsible for such a heinous crime, but they were the only two ponies there.

"We don't know, Uncle Flash," Flurry said, "that's what we're trying to deduce."

"We're investigating!" Sunlight said in excitement. She couldn't help but have a little bit of fun investigating with Flurry. "We investigated Pinkie's death, too!"

Her father looked at them both sternly. "Sunlight, this isn't a fun matter. This is a serious one, and I think you should leave it to the Ponyville Police. Now, both of you, come home."

"But, Daddy, I…"

"NOW, young filly…"

Sunlight knew when her father meant business, and this was one of those times. So she and Flurry, tails drooping, turned and made their way towards the Castle of Friendship. But before they left, Sunlight ran over and gave Apple Bloom a friendly hug. "I'm so sorry, Apple Bloom," she whispered, "Applejack was an amazing pony and you were so lucky to have her as a sister!"

Apple Bloom sniffed, nodded, and graciously returned the embrace. She was happy to have Sunlight there with her. The two of them had become good friends over the years, and this was a time for that kind of support. They stayed in the embrace for a couple of minutes before Sunlight let go and began following her cousin back to the castle.

"Darn that father of yours!" Flurry said when they were out of earshot of the older ponies.

"What do you mean, Flurry? Daddy just wants us to be safe. What if the murderer comes after us?!"

"But I feel like we can solve this mystery, and Uncle Flash is just squelching us!" 

"He is not squelching!" Sunlight squeaked in defense of her father, "he's protecting! That's his job, not only as a prince, but as my Daddy and your uncle! He loves us, that's why he asked us to leave."

Flurry scoffed and gave her cousin an angered look. She wanted to keep right on investigating and find the culprit. She loved mysteries and mystery books and anything having to do with piecing together a puzzle, and this was the biggest puzzle she had ever seen. But it seemed that Flash had other ideas.

But she also realized that Sunlight made a point. Flash had acted the same way her own father acted whenever he wanted his daughter to get away from something potentially dangerous. Flash hadn't been mean with them, he'd just been very firm. Maybe she was selling him short. Maybe she had misjudged his tone.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sunlight," she said, "you're right. Uncle Flash is just trying to keep us from harm. Still, though, don't you wanna keep investigating and find whoever did this?"

"Of course I do!" Sunlight said, "but Daddy said we can't."

"So we do it behind his back…"

"You mean…lie? Right after we just said 'goodbye' to the most honest pony in Equestrian history? I don't think so, Flurry."

"Look, if we find the perp, then we'll be hailed as heroes."

"But if we don't find them and Mommy and Daddy find out we've been lying to them, then we'll both get punished severely."

"Then that's a risk we'll have to take. We have to find this pony. If we don't, then they could end up killing all of our friends!"

Flurry made a terrific point. Maybe sometimes a little dishonesty in order to catch somepony this evil made sense. Still, though, Sunlight hated the very notion of lying to her parents. She tried her hardest to be a good filly, and good fillies didn't lie. But the thought of continuing their investigation made her small heart quiver with excitement. She wanted desperately to keep the adventure going.

"Alright, let's check the trees again," Sunlight said. Her cousin lit up and they both turned tail and dashed into the orchard. They maneuvered from tree to tree, keeping strictly out of sight. They noticed the Ponyville Police Department show up, dressed from head to hoof in their sparkling blue uniforms. Flash and Twilight explained to them what had happened and then trotted away.

"Sunlight," Flurry whispered, "I just had an idea! We only checked the base of the trees, right?" 

"Yeah," Sunlight whispered back, "but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, one of us should check the branches of the trees for clues."

"Flurry, there's hundreds of trees! We'd have to check each one of them!"

"Not necessarily. I managed to get a look at Applejack's wounds before Uncle Flash and Auntie Twily showed up. They entered from the north side of Applejack's neck and exited on the south side, and unlike Pinkie's injuries, they were only to the neck."

"Which means the culprit missed a shot on Pinkie, but was dead on with Applejack," Sunlight finished and Flurry nodded. "So we need to check the trees that are on the far side of the northern part of the orchard."

"Why so far away?" Sunlight asked.

"Because we're dealing with a sniping pony, and sniping ponies always set up from very far away so they can make a quick getaway while everypony else is searching the areas closest to the body."

"You sure know a lot about sniping…" Sunlight said.

"I read mystery books 98% of the time," Flurry said, "and a lot of them involve this type of crime."

"Oh, I see," Sunlight said. "OK, I'll teleport both of us to that tree over there." She pointed to a rather large tree at the far northern end of the orchard. "We can start our search there."

Flurry nodded and Sunlight wrapped one of her small wings around Flurry's leg. She knew that only a single part of her had to be touching Flurry for the teleportation spell to work. So she fired up her horn and quickly zapped them over into the tree branches. Flurry crept forward on a limb and looked out.

"Flurry!" Sunlight suddenly said, "I found something!"

The white filly quickly raced over to where her purple cousin was beckoning her urgently. They both softly moved forward and Sunlight used her magic to untangle something from the tree limb. "It's a piece of string!" Flurry said.

"But what does it go to?" Sunlight asked.

"I don't know, but one thing's for sure. Strings don't just end up in trees. Come on. Let's head back to the castle and see if we can deduce what this is! Maybe it's from the cloaked pony in Pinkie's diary!"

Quickly, Flurry used her own teleportation spell to zap them back down to the ground. They raced from the orchard and back towards the castle as fast as their hooves could carry them. The sun was setting and the dust created a musky haze in the dusk. They galloped over the hill and across the bridge to the castle. They knew they had to solve this mystery as quickly as they could.


	8. A Cloak's Revelations

Flurry Heart and Sunlight Dawn ran into the Castle of Friendship, determined to crack the case. They dashed down the hall and into Sunlight's room, shutting and locking the door as they went. Flurry took the piece of string they found in the tree at Applejack's farm and set it on Sunlight's desk. Then she had a horrifying realization. "Sunlight!" She said suddenly, "we don't have anything to compare this to! We don't even know if it came from a cloak!"

"But we don't know that it didn't come from a cloak, either," Sunlight pointed out. Flurry took a look at the string. Sunlight had a good point. It could be from a cloak, but then again, it could be from some other type of outerwear or it could simply be a stray string that had bent to the will of the wind and ended up in the tree.

Flurry sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right. Still, though, we need something to compare this with."

Sunlight suddenly lit up. "My Mom keeps a book on cloaks in her library! It has pictures in it! Maybe we can use it to find some answers!"

Flurry grinned at her cousin and Sunlight quickly teleported them from her room to the castle library. She always loved to come here and read. The room had recently been outfitted with several noise cancellation devices. It helped the concentration of the reader tremendously. Sunlight had been working her way through Ponyville's History, and she had been absorbing information at an astonishing pace. The newer, quieter library made it much easier for her to do so.

She also knew the library inside and out and she quickly ran up to one of the shelves. They were organized alphabetically, and she was looking for a work titled "Cloaks and You." So she scanned through the "C" section of the library. Her small eyes darted back and forth, seeking out the tome for which they had come.

Suddenly, she saw it. "Yes!" She said out loud as she used her magic to float the book down and open it. "This could be the key to busting this case wide open!" Flurry said, "come on!"

They took the book and quickly teleported back to Sunlight's room. Flurry opened it to a section featuring full color photographs of cloaks and their strings. Flurry turned to Sunlight and gave her a puzzled look. "Sunlight…why does your mother have a book about cloaks?"

"Because she's my Mommy," Sunlight said, "she has books on every subject there is. Why do you ask?" Suddenly, Sunlight gasped. "You're implicating her in the cloak caper, aren't you?! Admit it!"

"I'm not implicating anypony," Flurry said defensively, "it was a simple question."

"Of all the rotten, lowdown things," Sunlight said, "trying to put my mother in as the perp on this case!"

"Will you shut up?!" Flurry asked angrily, "I'm trying to read!"

"Oh, sure. You're 'trying to read.' How would you like it if I implicated YOUR mother?!"

"First of all, my Mom is back in The Crystal Empire. She's miles from here. Secondly, I did NOT implicate Auntie Twily! She has no motive, no means, no nothing! I just asked why she had a book on cloaks. Not everypony has a book on cloaks in their personal collection! It's just kind of odd!"

Sunlight realized that her cousin was right. Flurry would never put Twilight in as a suspect in this case. Twilight was the Princess of Friendship and she loved her friends more than life itself. She had never been seriously hurt by any of them, and Aunt Starlight had once said that Twilight couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with her magic blast.

"I'm sorry I accused you, Flurry," Sunlight said, "I'm just so fidgety right now!"

"It's OK, Sunlight," Flurry said, "it just hurts to have you jump to those kinds of conclusions."

Sunlight stepped over and embraced Flurry. The two fillies stayed with each other for a few seconds before breaking apart. "We'll always be friends, right?" Sunlight asked honestly. Flurry nodded. "Definitely," she said as she smiled, "now, let's find out where this string came from."

They scanned through the book on cloaks until they came to a certain model. It was grey, with a string count of 5,000. It looked light enough to wear comfortably on a hot, summer day, yet heavy enough to brave the colder winter nights. "The perfect cloak…" Sunlight said softly. Flurry nodded. "Yeah, but is it the right one? Get me the string."

So Sunlight used her magic to bring the string to them. She set it down beside the book and Flurry took a long, hard look at it. "Wait a minute!" Sunlight suddenly squeaked, "I just learned a spell that can magnify things that are tiny. I can use it to blow up this string just a little bit."

"Alright," Flurry said, "do it."

So Sunlight fired a small blast at the string and made it as big as the book. "Good job, Sunlight!" Flurry said, "but we still have a problem."

"What's that?"

"The individual strings on this are tiny."

"No problem," Sunlight said, "I know another spell." She used her magic to blast the picture and, suddenly, an exact copy of that cloak was sitting in the room with them. Flurry's mouth fell open and she looked at Sunlight. "Three-Dimensional Reimaging Spell," was all Sunlight said.

Flurry smiled and gave Sunlight a hug. "Have I ever told you how incredible you are?" She asked. Sunlight smiled back and said, "a few times." Then the two of them stepped forward and Flurry put a hoof on the cloak. "I can't believe it," she said, "but it's completely exact! It matches the description in the book to a T! Now, let's compare the string."

So Sunlight tossed the bigger string to Flurry, who held it up to the cloak. It was difficult to tell, but she thought they might have a match. "Sunlight, I think we've struck gold with this one! Come and see what you think."

Sunlight walked over and studied the string and the cloak with great care. "Yeah…I think you're right!" She said, "they do look remarkably similar. They're both grey, and the string length looks to be completely exact. But who in town do we know that sells these kinds of cloaks?" They both though for a moment before yelling in unison, "RARITY!"

"Come on!" Flurry said, "we've gotta get to Rarity's shop before she closes for the day."

"We'll have to hurry," Sunlight said, pointing to the clock in her room, "it's 7:25 and she closes at 7:30."

"Well, then, come on! Grab onto me! I'll teleport us there!"

So Sunlight did so and Flurry blasted them into Rarity's shop. They walked up to the counter and saw the surprised unicorn. They noticed that she was dressed in black from head to hoof. "Uh, hi, Rarity," Sunlight said, "what's with the black?" Then she noticed that there were two framed photos of Pinkie and Applejack sitting there. Both had black ribbons on them.

"This is my mourning outfit," Rarity said. Both fillies could tell she had been crying extensively. Her eyes were red and puffy and they noticed that her coat was matted where tears had made their way down. "But, you needn't worry about my sadness," she said, "what can I do for you?" 

"Rarity," Flurry said, "we're sorry to barge in this close to closing time, but we need your help identifying who might have purchased a certain cloak."

"A cloak? Darling, cloaks are out of season right now. It's summer!"

"We know, but this particular cloak is one that can be worn in both summer and winter."

"Wait…is the cloak grey?"

"Yeah…how'd you know?"

"Because I've sold one cloak in the past five months. The pony who purchased it had a mysterious air about her. She didn't speak hardly at all, and she paid for the cloak in straight bits. She didn't use any other method of payment. No credit, no check, no anything. Just bits!"

"You sound surprised?"

"Well that's because I am surprised, darling! That cloak was 750 bits! Those models don't come cheap."

"Don't you normally sell your own merchandise here? Why were you carrying another brand?"

"Well…the cloaks I made didn't really sell that well, so I had to outsource that particular section to somepony else. It's just business, darling."

"Do you remember what this particular pony looked like?"

"Well…she looked like…well, like that pony there."

Rarity pointed with her hoof to a cloaked figure at the edge of the store, who was wearing the same cloak Sunlight and Flurry had seen in the book. They walked over to her and sat down. "Excuse me, ma'am," Sunlight said respectfully, "I'm Princess Sunlight Dawn and this is Princess Flurry Heart of The Crystal Empire. We'd like to ask you a couple of questions."

Suddenly, the cloaked figure dumped a pile of nearby measuring tape on them and darted from the store. "Oh, it's on!" Sunlight squeaked defiantly. She and Flurry dashed from the boutique and down the street, in hot pursuit of the cloaked pony.


	9. Confrontation

"STOP!" Flurry and Sunlight screamed as they ran helter skelter through the streets of Ponyville. Their deranged target knocked over baskets of fruit and bundles of other goods as they ran through the outdoor market. The cloaked pony seemed determined to reach her destination, wherever that might be.

But what she didn't count on was Sunlight and her knowledge of the town. Her mind was a veritable road map, and it came in handy on a number of occasions. This was one of them. She turned to Flurry mid gallop and pointed down an alley with a hoof. Then she raced away. Flurry watched her go with more than a bit of puzzlement, but continued after their assailant.

The cloaked one barged around a corner without paying attention, then all of a sudden skidded to a stop as Sunlight appeared in front of her. Flurry bounded around the corner to see her cousin in a deathly staredown with their opponent. The cloaked pony scoffed. "What are a couple of fillies gonna do to stop me? I mean, after all, you're so young…"

"Age is irrelevant," Sunlight said seriously, "we can track you, we can find you, and we can bring you down. The choice is yours. You can either come with us back to the Castle of Friendship and we'll have a small talk with my mother and father, or…you can stand right there and Flurry and I can wrestle you to the ground and then we'll go have that talk."

"Oh, I don't intend to talk to your mother," she retorted, "I intend to make bits, and that's just what I'm going to do. Now, move, or else I will fire this horn into your tiny heart, and make it explode, and you'll die right where you stand."

"I wanna know why you've been killing our friends!" Sunlight squeaked.

"I have my reasons for why I carry out these kinds of missions," she said, "and I don't have to explain myself to two fillies. Now, get the buck out of my way!"

"How dare you?!" Sunlight said angrily, "how dare you use that kind of language in the presence of two princesses of Equestria?!"

"How the hay do I know you're really princesses?!" 

Flurry and Sunlight exchange a look around the cloaked one. Their expressions read like a book. They couldn't believe that somepony who could pull of masterful hits like the ones she had could possibly be questioning their princess status. After all, they weren't dressed up. Anypony with eyes could see their wings and their horns.

They both opened their mouths and squeaked in unison. "BECAUSE WE'RE ALICORNS!"

"Alicorn, shmalicorn. I need solid proof! Anypony with even a quarter of a brain can glue wings onto themselves, or a horn. Show me. You," she pointed at Sunlight, "purple filly. Shoot a magic blast at the ground and turn it into quicksand."

"NO!" Flurry yelled as she realized what the cloaked pony was doing, "IT'S A TRAP…"

But it was too late. Sunlight, in her haste to prove her royal status, had already performed the spell. She began sinking into the earth beneath her. Flurry raced around the cloaked pony, determined to save her best friend. "SO LONG, SUCKERS!" The evil one said as she raced away.

"Flurry! You've gotta go after her!" Sunlight yelled

"Never mind that!" Flurry said, "your life means more to me than catching her!" 

Sunlight smiled, grateful for a friend who would do anything for her. The quicksand was rapidly gathering around her small midsection and Flurry reached in with her hoof and began heaving. She tugged and pulled with all of her strength, but couldn't free her friend. Then she turned around and looked at a couple of ponies nearby. "Please, help me!" She yelled desperately.

The two ponies quickly galloped to the young princess's aid. They grabbed onto Flurry and used all their might to try and free Sunlight. They pulled and pulled and pulled and finally, after about 15 minutes, they were able to pull Sunlight out of the lethal bath. The purple filly panted for a moment before throwing her hooves around Filly.

"Thank you," she whispered, "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Flurry smiled and returned the embrace, "and I don't know what I'd do without you."

The two of them turned and profusely thanked the two ponies for their help. The ponies bowed to the princesses before returning to their business. They were curious about why quicksand had suddenly appeared in the middle of the road, but they simply chalked it up to magic and didn't ask any questions. When one lives in Equestria, one has that luxury.

Meanwhile, across town, the evil cloaked pony, Sharpshooter, lined up her next target. She pulled out the hit list her employer had given her. Thankfully, she had made multiple magic copies of the original, otherwise she would be in extremely hot water. She had dropped the first list somewhere in the Everfree Forest and when she went back to retrieve it, it wasn't there. _Buck those ponies, _she said to herself, _they can all die, for all I care. _

From her hiding place on top of the tallest building in town, she peered this way and that, looking for her victim. Using the magic target she had created, she was able to spot the third pony on the list. "For 100,000 bits…I'll take down that jerk," she said out loud, "…Fluttershy."

Carefully, she lined up the shot. There was a lot of activity around Fluttershy. Even in the evening hours, the market was a busy place, filled with ponies doing their last minute shopping for the day. With the Summer Sun Celebration fast approaching, everypony was hustling about, purchasing food and other things to have at their own parties. They lasted all night and ended when Celestia raised the sun, proclaiming the longest day of the year into existence.

"Buck Celestia," she said, "she can go to Tartarus! After what she and that witch sister of hers did to our family…"

She reminisced for a moment about the reason she had for going into the hit pony business. Celestia and Luna had declared that the land their family home sat on was to be repossessed for Equestrian use. When she found out that the "Equestrian use" the two royal mares spoke of was simply a wild animal reserve, she was infuriated. She swore that one day she would kill the two princesses and thus take vengeance for her family.

What she didn't realize was that Celestia and Luna had given her family another tract of land to live on that was even better than the first one. The royal mares had visited her village one day and realized that the land they were living on was overgrown with brush and weeds and the family had no means of clearing that stuff away. So the benevolent princesses decided to reclaim that land as a reserve for animals and give the family an even better home.

But Sharpshooter had been absent when all this had taken place. She had run away from home, and never looked back. She was intent upon murdering the leaders of Equestria. "I will kill them," she said viciously and vindictively, "but first…I've gotta do this job. I've gotta get the bits to be able to stay in Canterlot long enough to kill them."

She lined up her shot when she heard a door bang from behind her. "Stop!" A voice squeaked. She groaned and turned to see the two fillies who had chased her down earlier. "What?!" She asked abruptly, "can't you two see I'm busy?!"

"I really don't care how 'busy' you are," Sunlight squeaked indignantly, "you need to come with us!" 

"Yes, as royal princesses, we have the power to arrest ponies," Flurry added, smirking with triumph.

"Oh, you do, do you?" Sharpshooter asked with a sneer, "well, let's see you try and stop this!"

With that, she fired a blast with deathly precision. Sunlight and Flurry could only watch in horror as the blast went in and out of Fluttershy's heart. Blood quickly spurted from the wound. Sunlight bent over and sobbed into Flurry, and Flurry sobbed right back. The kind yellow Pegasus had fallen over, dead in an instant.


	10. A Murderer Uncovered

From the moment when Sharpshooter's blast had gone through Fluttershy, to the moment when the yellow pony hit the ground and gave up her proverbial ghost, time itself seemed to stand still. The princesses watched everything with eyes not of their own making. It seemed as if some type of apparition had possessed them and the entire world around them, causing things to slow down and creep along at a sloth's pace.

But when Fluttershy hit the ground, time suddenly sped up once again. A great commotion occurred in the marketplace. Ponies ran this way and that, trying with great urgency to find the pony who would dare commit such a crime. Everypony loved Fluttershy, and they all wanted to catch whoever it was that shot her.

Up on top of the building, the princesses hurled themselves onto Sharpshooter and held her down, refusing to let go. "YOU WITCH!" Sunlight screamed in a blind rage, "HOW COULD YOU?! FLUTTERSHY WAS THE NICEST, KINDEST, SWEETEST PONY EVER! SHE NEVER DID ANYTHING TO HURT ANYPONY! WHY?! WHY?!"

"I DON'T HAVE TO EXPLAIN MYSELF!" Sharpshooter screamed back

"OH, YES YOU DO," Flurry yelled, "WE ARE PRINCESSES OF CELESTIA, AND IF YOU DON'T WANNA END UP IN TARTARUS OR WORSE, YOU'D BETTER START TALKING!"

Sharpshooter gave them both a murderous stare and fired up her horn. "If you ask me to talk one more time," she threatened, "I'll put both of you in the same grave that revolting yellow Pegasus now sits in!"

When she heard the term "revolting" being used to describe one of her closest friends, Sunlight flew into an absolute rage. Her power was just as great as Midnight's had been, and soon, she was calling on storm clouds to come from Cloudsdale. Lightning flashed around them and she directed it to strike the now frightened sniper beneath them.

"NO!" Sharpshooter yelled, "please! I'll do anything! I'll do anything!" 

"THEN…TALK!" Sunlight screamed in a voice so demonic, it nearly knocked Flurry over. "Sunlight! Stop this!" She said suddenly. Sunlight turned and saw her cousin's panicked look and immediately dropped everything. "Do you really wanna stoop to HER level?!" Flurry asked as she pointed to Sharpshooter.

"No…I guess not," Sunlight said, "but still. I want her dead! She's killed Pinkie, Applejack, and now Fluttershy! She needs to pay with her life, and I'll take it myself if I have to!"

Flurry shook her cousin. "You've got to calm down and let Celestia, Luna, and our moms deal with her! All we can do is take her back to the castle and lock her in the dungeon."

"Oh…I don't think you'll be taking me anywhere," Sharpshooter sneered, "see ya!" With that, she prepared to teleport herself away from there and to her next target. But the two fillies held her down. "Oh, no, you don't," Flurry said, "I'm gonna be the only one doing any teleporting around here."

So, she grabbed Sunlight and Sharpshooter and teleported them into the Castle of Friendship's throne room. She guessed that Twilight, Flash, and their friends would be gathered there to discuss their recent losses. After all, good friends lean on each other in times of great crisis. This seemed like an opportune time for Twilight to have called a meeting.

Flurry guessed correctly. They suddenly appeared in the throne room. Twilight was a bit surprised by the sudden intrusion, but she smiled at her daughter and niece. Then she noticed Sharpshooter. "Who, may I ask, is our guest?"

"Mommy, this is Sharpshooter," Sunlight said, "she's the one who…who…who just killed three of our friends."

"Three?!" Twilight asked, "but…I thought only two had died!"

"Fluttershy…" was all Sunlight could say before bursting into tears. The mood in the room turned even grimmer then it had been. "No…" Twilight said as tears rolled freely, "…not Fluttershy…" She turned and buried her head in her sister's shoulder, crying freely. Starlight patted her on the back, trying her best to be comforting but fighting through tears of her own.

She peered around Twilight's throne and noticed with shock that it was the same pony she had known back in Sire's Hollow. She gave Twilight an understanding look, got up and walked over to the sniper. "Tulip, what the heck are you doing here?"

"Starlight!" Sharpshooter suddenly said. Gasps were heard. "You KNOW this pony?!" Rainbow Dash asked in disbelief. Starlight nodded. "Yes, I do. We were…friends back in Sire's Hollow."

"I was never your friend!" Sharpshooter said defiantly, "you sold me out! You screwed me over!"

"I did the right thing!" Starlight said as her anger mounted, "and now here I find you, still offing ponies for a living! It breaks my heart, Tulip. You did your time!"

Sunlight and Flurry both looked at Sharpshooter. They were in such a hurry to get her back here, they hadn't even bothered to ask her name. "By the way," Flurry said, "what is your name?"

"My name is Sharpshooter!" The evil mare responded.

"Oh, no, it's not. Your name is Tulip Mane." Starlight said. A fit of giggles burst out in the room. "Tulip Mane?!" Rainbow Dash asked, "wow…what a name for a killer!"

"MY NAME IS SHARPSHOOTER!"

"It doesn't matter what your name is," Twilight said as the mood returned to seriousness, and she wiped her tears away. "What matters is what you've done. You've committed evil and heinous acts against the ponies of Ponyville. You've killed my friends!"

"You ain't got one shred of proof! You've got nothin' against me!"

"My daughter's word is proof."

"You need concrete evidence to throw me in jail! You know that! It's against Equestrian law for a princess to imprison a pony without such corroboration, and nopony, not even you, is above that law!"

"I agree, which is why we've been busily studying the string my niece and my daughter left here." Twilight turned and looked at Sunlight sternly, before continuing. "I'm a little disappointed that they continued their investigation after Flash had warned them not to do so, but on the other hoof, I'm proud that they've helped bring a killer to justice."

"Mommy," Sunlight suddenly said.

"Yes, darling?"

"I'm sorry we were dishonest with you and Daddy. But we knew things. We needed to catch this evil mare. My conscience wouldn't allow me to rest until she was in custody."

"I know, Sunlight. I'm proud that you've done this. But next time…please be honest with your father and I. You know Applejack would say that honesty is always the best policy."

"I know," Sunlight said as her tail drooped.

"Look, you two. We forgive you for the dishonesty, but Sunlight, I want you to do a bit of extra homework as punishment. Flurry, I'll leave your punishment up to Cadance and Shining Armor."

"Yes, Auntie Twily"

"Good. Now, then. Let's take Tulip or Sharpshooter or whoever she is to the holding area of the castle. I'll contact Princess Celestia and she and Luna can decide what to do with her."

So Sunlight and Flurry followed as her father took Sharpshooter and threw her into a jail cell to await trial. But before they were able to leave, Sharpshooter grabbed Sunlight's tail. "Let go of me, you insolent devil!" Sunlight squeaked. Flash quickly removed his daughter's appendage from her grasp. "What's the big idea?" He asked angrily, "you're already in more trouble than you could imagine. Why make it worse by assaulting a princess?!"

Suddenly, Sharpshooter fired up her horn. "What the hay are you doing?" Flash asked. "I won't go to Tartarus, or prison, or whatever god forsaken place you put me! I'll go out on my own terms!" She then proceeded to shoot herself through the heart.

"NO!" Flash said, "SOMEPONY GET ME A MEDIC!"

"It's too late for that," Sharpshooter gasped as she began coughing up blood. "But I leave you with this. The pony I was working for is more powerful than anypony. The Summer Sun Celebration…beware the Summer Sun Celebration…and beware the rage." With those words, she convulsed a few times and was still.


	11. Sisterhood

After Sharpshooter's death, Twilight and Starlight retired to a certain room to talk with each other. This room was completely their own. Each had decorated half to reflect their certain personalities. They called it "The Chamber of Shared Sisterhood," and it was off limits to everypony except them. Of course, they made certain exceptions to this rule, such as medical emergencies, but other than that, the room was theirs.

Twilight went and sat on one of the comfortable plush chairs that Celestia had sent them as a "sisterhood" present. When Twilight's old mentor had found out the true connection that she and Starlight shared, she was absolutely enthralled and insisted on throwing them a small congratulatory party. These chairs had been specially made in Canterlot, and each bore one of their names. They were sat very close together, symbolically recognizing the true bond between the two.

Starlight sat in her chair and turned to face her sister. Normally, when they came in here, they were in jovial moods. But not this time. This time they had to face the harsh reality that three of their best friends in the world were gone. Three precious lives snuffed out in an instant. The fire of friendship that had burned so brightly between them seemed dim by comparison. The embers were softly glowing, but that seemed to be all.

Twilight sighed. "I miss them," she said as tears came.

"I do, too," Starlight said, "but…we can't bring them back."

Twilight shook her head. "No, we can't. I've yet to hear of a magic powerful enough to raise the dead. So we have to deal with this."

Starlight nodded, then suddenly turned to Twilight. "Twi…I've been meaning to ask you this for quite some time. What does our sisterhood mean to you?"

Twilight started a bit. Was Starlight doubting her faith in their friendship? If so, she shouldn't. Twilight's faith was stronger than ever, and she thought their friendship benefitted from it. Had she done something to harm her sister? Had she committed some completely abhorrent crime without knowing it?

"It means the world to me," Twilight said, "you know that. I love you, Starlight. You are my sister and nothing will ever change that. Nopony could ever come between us. I know I have lots of friends and I'm the Princess of Friendship and everything, but you're my best friend."

She smiled and Starlight smiled back. "I know," she said, "but…"

"But what?"

"Oh, I've just been thinking a lot about my old village lately. You got letters from them stating they had survived Midnight's wrath, didn't you?"

Twilight nodded. "Yeah, I got them."

"I've asked you that before, haven't I?"

"Five times."

Starlight smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Twi, but I just…miss them."

Twilight embraced her sister. "I know you do, but this is your home now. You have lots of new friends here that love you and care about you. Since we discovered our sisterly connection, I've felt our friendship grow stronger than ever before."

"Stronger?" Starlight asked, "but we've fought a lot, too."

"Nopony ever said best friends had to agree on anything or never fight," Twilight pointed out, "come on, you know that. You're my guidance counselor, for Celestia's sake!"

Starlight smiled as they broke their embrace. "Yeah, I guess I lost sight of that for a minute. Still, though, I can't help but wonder what might have become of me if you and our friends hadn't ever shown up."

"You probably would have remained a cutie mark hating dictator for the rest of your life," Twilight said bluntly.

Starlight shivered. She felt the cold winds that used to blow over her village trace a new route down her spine. She saw ponies like Sugar Belle and Party Favor in her head, just as innocent as they had been on the day she found them. Then they were corrupted by her vicious collectivist philosophy. She told them it was the only way to truly make progress as a species, and they bought into it.

She suddenly realized that she and her deceased niece had a lot in common. Midnight had gone around Equestria proclaiming lies about the rich and smart ponies in the land. She had gone to one village and proclaimed that cutie marks were defeating ponies, not assisting them. She guessed that there were a lot of ponies who would buy into radical philosophies if they were worded correctly.

"Starlight?" Twilight asked.

Starlight snapped out of her small reverie. "Yeah, what is it, Twi?"

"Sorry, you just seemed lost in thought for a second. Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

"How far would you have gone?"

"Huh?"

"To save me. How far would you have gone?"

Twilight grabbed her sister's hoof with her own. "I would've gone to the ends of the earth to save you."

"Even knowing what a horrible pony I was?"

"I don't think you were a horrible pony at heart. I think you had a horribly vindictive outlook on cutie marks and when you gained power in that village, that outlook created that horrible pony. But now you've completely changed. You've done a 360, and it shows. You're kind, caring, wonderful, and a true friend to others. Look, I've been doing a lot of thinking about who you are to me and what you mean to Equestria…and I've come to a decision. You are my sister, which makes you royal blood. Not only that, but you've studied friendship to the point where you basically have a doctorate degree in the subject. Starlight, I want to make you a fellow princess and welcome you onto the dais of the rulers of Equestria!"

Starlight's mouth fell open. "What?" She asked in shock, "you want to make me a…princess? But I thought only Celestia could do that!"

Twilight shook her head. "All four princesses have the power to do something like that. I was just waiting on the right moment, and Starlight, now is the right moment. I want you by my side as a princess."

"But…you're the Princess of Friendship. What would I be?"

"The Princess of Guidance, Starlight. You know what it is to come from the outside, to be that lonely pony without a single friend in the world. You can help other ponies know what it is to be a friend and to have friends instead of being alone. You can help ponies who are new to friendship. Oh, and it comes with a promotion in the School of Friendship. I want you to be Vice Head Mare!"

"Vice Head Mare?"

"Yes, indeed."

"But…who would be the guidance counselor?"

"I've decided to ask the Cutie Mark Crusaders to be our counselors. They understand the ins and outs of friendship so well, and they certainly deserve the position."

Starlight looked at the ground, then back at her sister. She couldn't believe everything that had happened in the past thirty seconds. She had gone from a simple guidance counselor to being offered one of the highest positions in Equestria! She was thrilled, but then she turned suspicious.

"You're not doing this out of sheer nepotism, are you?" She asked. Twilight started a bit and shook her head. "Of course not, Starlight! Yes, you're my sister, but you're also the most qualified pony to take this position! Now, do you accept or not?"

"I…I…" Starlight stammered. How could she take this spot? How could she stand on the same level as Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Twilight? How could she do it? She looked up and saw the sparkles dancing in her sister's eyes. Twilight looked absolutely enthralled to be offering this position to her. So, Starlight puffed up her chest a bit and said, "…I accept."

Twilight beamed, and got down off her chair. She fired up her horn and shot a magic blast into Starlight. Suddenly, the guidance counselor found herself lifted up off the floor. She looked down and saw her sister's lips moving, but she couldn't quite make out what she was saying. There was a terrible roar in her ears. She felt a weight of thousands of pounds being placed on her shoulder. She thought it would crush her. She wanted out.

Then, her sister's sweet voice reached her ear. "My dear Starlight, how far you have come. I remember Celestia saying those same words to me the day I became a princess. But know this. The demands of royal life are absolute. The things you knew as a regular pony will become distorted and you will get a completely new view on life. I know you feel a weight on you, a burden that you cannot carry alone. That is Equestria and all the ponies in it. But the good news is, you don't have to carry it alone. You have the four of us and all the rest of your friends to help with it. Don't ever forget your friendships, Starlight. I am very proud of you my dear sister, and I am even more proud to be the first one to hail you by your new title. Princess Starlight Glimmer, the Princess of Guidance. Help the lonely and lost, and Equestria will love and look to you for the rest of your now extended life. Do good to those who need it, and punish the unjust. Defeat evil, and look to the good in ponies. I am thrilled to have you with me in this endeavor. I love you, my sister."

With those words echoing in her ears, Starlight was let down. She found herself standing before Twilight, who was beaming. She felt something odd on her flank and looked down to see a brand new pair of wings. She unfurled them, and they stretched out just as wide as her sister's did.

Twilight embraced her. "I'm so proud of you, Starlight! We'll worry about your official coronation later, and Celestia does know all about this. She's just as proud of you as I am. Now, let's go show Ponyville the new you. Princess Starlight Glimmer. It has a nice ring to it, if I do say so myself."


	12. A Mysterious Note

Twilight and Starlight went around Ponyville and allowed Starlight's new subjects to get a good look at her. They weren't conceited or boastful about the affair, but that didn't mean that Starlight didn't furl and unfurl her new wings as much as possible. She was so excited to be in her new position and she talked the ears off of everypony they came across.

Soon, even Twilight was getting a little annoyed with her constant conversations, so she pulled her aside. "OK," she said, "princess lesson #1: be sociable, but know when to restrain yourself."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, princesses have to talk to all kinds of ponies, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So that means that you need to save your voice a bit. You're talking with everypony!"

"But I'm so excited, Twi. I mean, I'm a princess now! It doesn't happen to everyone."

"I know, and believe me, no one is happier for you than I am. But slow down a bit, OK? You're making the ponies here a little nervous."

Starlight looked around and realized that her sister was right. Nopony was approaching them. At first, they had all been amazed and ecstatic that there was a new princess in Equestria. Now, they all went about their business, casually avoiding the two royal mares. Starlight looked upset by all this. "Hey! I'm a princess now. Doesn't that mean they should be…you know…bowing and stuff like that?"

"Only in formal situations is bowing required by law," Twilight said, "in these informal times, we're seen as their friends. If we were Celestia or Luna, things would be different because they actually rule the country."

"So, then…our princess title is merely a formality?"

Twilight nodded. "Basically," she said, "it's nice to have it, but we really don't make laws or anything like that. However, we do have a shared piece of authority in the land, and we can arrest, judge, and imprison ponies or other creatures if need be. It says so in the Equestrian Constitution. We also rule Ponyville."

"Wait…we rule Ponyville? What about Mayor Mare?"

"When I became a princess and was placed in charge of both Ponyville and friendship, Celestia ordered Mayor Mare to submit all of her new laws and ideas to me for review and approval."

"So…do I get to help with that?"

"Yep! Luckily, we hardly ever have to make new laws because Ponyville is the friendliest and happiest town in Equestria! Nopony breaks the law…except for evil outsiders like Sharpshooter or Tulip or whatever her name was."

Starlight looked down a bit. She couldn't help it, but a part of her had wanted to be placed in charge of something important. Being "The Princess of Guidance" was all well and good, but she wanted a town to rule like Twilight. _I would think a new princess would be given something more than the job of a glorified guidance counselor, _she thought selfishly.

Then she stopped and realized what she was doing. She was turning back into the dictator that had ruthlessly ruled over an innocent village with an iron hoof. She was becoming selfish and mean spirited once again. She immediately turned and threw her hooves around her sister and sobbed.

"Oh, Twilight…" she choked out, "I'm so sorry!"

"Hey, hey! It's OK," Twilight said as she tried to console her grieving sibling. "You don't have anything to be sorry about!"

"Yes, I do!" Starlight said as she backed away from her sister, "I don't deserve this princess title. I don't deserve to be on the same level as you or Cadance or Celestia or Luna. I'm an awful, awful pony!"

"You are NOT an awful pony!" Twilight said firmly.

"Yes, I am! All I've been thinking of since I got these wings has been myself. I wanted another town to rule over. I wanted more ponies to be under my dominion! I was turning back into the old me!"

Twilight grabbed her sister and shook her. "Starlight, listen! You are not that pony anymore! We talked about this. You've gotta snap out of it!" Starlight shook her head a bit and cleared away the mental cobwebs before looking back at Twilight. "Starlight," Twilight said softly, "you are an amazing pony, and you'll make an amazing princess. But even princesses make mistakes. It's good that you caught yourself and stopped yourself from thinking that way. But you can't burst into tears every time you do something wrong."

She put a comforting hoof on her sister's shoulder, and smiled. "If I burst into tears every time I did something wrong, there'd be a river flowing through the middle of town!"

This earned a laugh from Starlight, who promptly embraced her sibling. "Thanks, Twi. I needed to hear that. I guess I just need to start learning from my past and applying it when necessary."

Twilight nodded. "Exactly. See, you're making a fine princess already. Come on. Let's head back to the castle. I have a feeling that your nieces are gonna want to see their new princess aunt."

Starlight grinned and nodded in excitement. They turned their tails around and headed for the Castle of Friendship. On the way back, Starlight had the opportunity to do some thinking. _I really do need to learn from my past. But…how? I mean, my past is so undeniably dark and evil. I took the very thing that makes a pony special and turned it into common household waste. I made everypony equal, _here she stopped and shuddered, _but I also made everypony miserable._

Her tail and mane began drooping as they walked along. Twilight took notice of this. "Everything OK, Starlight?"

"No," Starlight said, "look, I'm not gonna fly into hysterics or anything, but…I'm not sure how to learn from my past and use it in my new position."

"You already have," Twilight said

"I have?"

"Yeah. By recognizing that the way you were thinking back there was selfish and returning to the benevolence demanded of a princess, you learned from it. Heck, by becoming The Princess of Guidance at all, you've learned from it. That shows that you're willing to help anypony who comes to you, and that cutie marks are irrelevant in that regard."

Starlight smiled as they made their way across the bridge to the castle. "What did I ever do to deserve a sister and best friend like you, Twi?" 

"It's not a matter of deserving, Starlight," Twilight said as she smiled back, "it's a matter of my love for you and your love for me. That's what being sisters is all about."

They trotted up to the front door and Starlight was in a much better frame of mind. But as they opened it and prepared to enter, something caught Twilight's eye. "Hm…what's this?" She asked out loud as she used her magic to pick it up. It was a piece of paper. Both princesses looked at it and their mouths fell open. It was a note and it read: "Beware the return of darkness. The Summer Sun Celebration shall be Equestria's final hour."


	13. A Funeral of Memories

A few days passed without further incident in Ponyville. A very touching and poignant funeral was held for the three victims of Sharpshooter's wicked blasts. The attendees were all dressed in various shades of black, and each one of them held something dear to them that reminded them of one of the three. There were many tears shed, but there were also many smiles shared over their beloved memories of their fallen sisters. They bonded over these memories, and Twilight was pleased to see some new friendships form.

As a matter of course and by complete coincidence, each of them had recently written a will. In fact, all of the seven ponies that comprised Twilight's group had written one. It was ordered to them by Celestia. She had stated in her letter to them that she wanted each of them to write one "just in case something terrible were to happen." Twilight couldn't help but get suspicious at the timing of everything, but she quickly tossed those thoughts aside. Celestia and the term "murder" would never be used in the same essay or story, let alone the same sentence.

In Pinkie's will, she had expressly stated that she wished to be buried in a pink dress that Rarity had made for her for one of the Grand Galloping Galas they had attended. In fact, it was the same one she had worn to their first Gala. She had also requested that "lively, polka party music" be played and she wanted the ponies there to remember her as a fun loving mare who always tried to bring laughter and smiles to the ponies around her. She also wanted her "Smile Song" to be sung.

So, they acquiesced to Pinkie's wishes and, in unison, belted out the lyrics to her song. It lightened the entire mood of the affair, and many ponies felt as if Pinkie were standing right there next to them, singing her heart out. However, even through the happiness of the song, some of the ponies sang through voices thickened with tears as they reminisced about their interactions with the hyperactive, happy-go-lucky pink mare.

After Pinkie was properly eulogized by Twilight, her older sister, Maude, and the Cakes, they closed the casket on her forever. When that lid shut, it felt as if their memories of her had been sealed away as well. Thus the tears began flowing once again, and different ponies tried their best to console their friends. The Cakes were taking it the hardest, because they had always thought of Pinkie as their own daughter. Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake, who were fully grown school foals by this point, also wept bitterly at the loss. They had thought of Pinkie as their older sister.

Oddly enough, Pinkie's own family, known for their toughness and rock hard personalities, were also inconsolable. Her mother cried rivers of tears and kept talking about her "poor little Pinkie who was taken so wickedly." Even Maude cried some. Limestone and Marble Pie didn't know what to do. They both loved their sister so much, even though it was difficult for them to show that love.

Next to be remembered was Applejack, the honest, hard working apple farmer that everypony had grown to love and appreciate. Her thick drawl seemed to hang in the air as a ghostly presence while Twilight gave her account of her friend's life. The poor purple princess could barely make it through Pinkie's eulogy, but on Applejack's, she completely broke down. She began crying so hard that Flash had to help her from the podium. Nopony cast judging eyes on Twilight for the outburst. They all understood what she was feeling.

In her will, Applejack had explicitly stated that she wanted Apple Bloom and Big Mac to eulogize her as well as Twilight. So her older brother got up and went to the podium and began his speech. "Um…y'all know I don't take kindly to talkin' in public, so…I'll keep it brief. My sister was the most amazin' pony ever and, even though we didn't always get along, I loved her with every fiber of my bein'. I don't take no stock in cryin' in public, neither, but today…might just be an exception to that rule. I remember when…" here he stopped and sniffed, "…she was born. I's so happy to have a younger siblin'. I remember when I first laid my eyes on her and saw just how special she was. My Ma and Pa were so happy to have a little filly, and, gosh darn it, I was thrilled to pieces, too! I remember havin' to help care for her after my parents were laid to rest. She and I developed a special bond, and we shared that bond right up until the moment of her passin'. Like I said, I'm gonna miss her a powerful lot. But…I take solace in the fact that she's not in pain no more. She ain't lyin' bleedin' in the middle of our apple orchards. I know she meant a lot to a lot of ponies here. I only hope we can carry on that legacy. Thank you."

With that, he moved from the stage on wobbly legs. His fiancée, Sugar Belle, quickly rose from her seat and helped him back to the audience. As soon as they sat down, he buried his face in her shoulder and sobbed. She put a comforting hoof around him and whispered loving words into his ear. He looked back at her and smiled. "Thanks, darlin'," he whispered, "I don't know what I'd do without you." She smiled back and gave him a small kiss.

Next came Apple Bloom. The young pony, no longer a filly, but not yet old enough to be considered a full grown adult, got to her hooves and made her way to the podium. She gave a speech that was nice, but after the heartwarming tribute her brother had given Applejack, she felt that it paled in comparison. She spoke about how her sister and she used to buck apples together, and how she always looked forward to it because it meant that they were able to bond that much more.

"Like my brother said," she finished, "I'll miss her somethin' terrible. But I'm happy that she was able to touch the lives of so many and I'm thankful that those ponies are here today. Y'all are a huge part of our lives, and Applejack would want y'all to know that. Thank you." With that, she went and sat down next to her friends, who did their best to console her.

Applejack had asked to be buried in her favorite cowboy hat and a simple dress. Nothing more. Everyone thought this was very appropriate and befitting of Applejack's honest and simple personality. She wanted to be completely transparent with everypony. No frills, even in death. She wouldn't have heard of it, and the ponies who executed her will were happy to help her with this endeavor.

Finally, Fluttershy was eulogized. She was to be buried in a dress that Rarity had designed for her. It represented her love of nature and animals and, as with Applejack, everyone agreed that this was the way it should be. She had also asked to be buried in the woods, where she might rest among her animal friends.

Twilight and her mother offered a dual eulogy. The purple princess spoke of Fluttershy's kindness, and her contributions to the animals of the forest and the School of Friendship. Her mother spoke of her early life and how she had completely come out of her shell since moving to Ponyville. They were both tender, sincere speeches that spoke of the love they both had for the yellow Pegasus.

After this, the third casket lid was closed and everypony moved towards the Ponyville Cemetery. The procession was silent, except for some sniffles from the grieving ones. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Starlight walked along in silence. Their tails drooped. Their manes, normally free and full of life, seemed to sag in the wind.

Rainbow looked up at the crystal blue sky. "I want to believe that they're up there, looking down on us," she said sadly, "but I know that's not true."

Rarity offered a hoof as they walked along. "I know, Rainbow Dash. But even though they're no longer among us or looking down on us, we must remember the good times we had with them. It's what they would want." Dash nodded as she wiped away a stray tear or two.

The grim procession reached the Cemetery where Applejack and Pinkie were to be buried. Twilight turned and stopped the entire group with a hoof. "My friends," she said, "I want to thank all of you for being here today. The three victims of this heinous crime would be proud to see you all standing here. I'm happy that everypony here had the chance to know these three, and to become just as good a friend of theirs as I was. Now, we say goodbye. But we must remember them with love and compassion in our hearts. As a princess of Equestria, I hereby assert my authority in proclaiming this day 'Friendship Day' throughout the land."

She turned to Celestia, Luna, and Cadance, who were visiting for the funeral. "My fellow princesses, I have made this proclamation within your hearing this day. Do you agree or shall we go a different route?"

Celestia rose and walked over to Twilight. She grasped her in a hug. This was followed by the other two royal mares. "Of course we agree, Twilight," she said, "I think it's a wonderful idea!" She turned to her subjects. "My fellow Equestrians, I hereby carry Twilight's proclamation."

"As do I," Luna said.

"As do I," Cadance added.

Twilight looked at Starlight, and Starlight realized that she could vote on this type of thing now as well. "Oh, sorry," she said, "as do I."

"It's unanimous," Twilight said, "from this day forth, 'Friendship Day' shall be a national holiday in Equestria. Everypony will have the day off from work and use it to better their own friendships. Because you don't really love or cherish what you have until you don't have it anymore." The ponies all murmured their agreement, and Twilight got supportive nods from her friends.

Suddenly, one of the cemetery guards came running up. He bowed low before the four princesses. "Your Majesties," he said, "I beg your indulgence and forgiveness for barging in like this, but…but…"

"But what?" Celestia asked. She didn't appear too happy to have the solemn event interrupted. The guard turned to Twilight. "Princess Twilight, the grave of your deceased daughter Midnight is empty! She's gone!"


	14. Investigating a Graveyard

A/N: Hey, guys! Sorry I didn't upload yesterday, but my life was kinda hectic. I hope y'all are enjoying this! Without further ado, let's get back into it!

The discovery of Midnight's empty sepulcher turned Ponyville into a state of mass chaos. Everypony had variations of the exact same thought almost at the exact same time. _What if a magic has been discovered that could raise the dead? _The consensus around town was that the idea was an incredibly farfetched one. But with magic, anything was within the realm of possibility, and this notion frightened the citizens.

Twilight and Starlight worked to help control the outbreak of hysteria. They ordered that extra guards be posted around the cemetery, and the Ponyville Police began investigating around the mausoleum that Midnight had been buried in. At this point, they were conducting the entire affair as a potential grave robbery. Their thinking was that some crazed follower of Midnight had stolen her body at some point in the weeks before and taken it to Celestia knew where.

Of course, since the appearance of the mysterious note and the circumstances surrounding that, Twilight had been on very high alert. She had even sent out ponies to question all of the former followers of Midnight. But, after learning of Midnight's deceitful ways, none of them wanted anything to do with her, at least, on the surface.

But one pony that couldn't be located was Iron Wing, Midnight's former general. His family in Manehattan were frantic looking for him. He had come home after Midnight's death, but according to his father, had never lost his love and admiration for the evil filly. "He built shrines to her in his room," he had told the investigator, "and he would always talk about the Summer Sun Celebration in an odd way. Every year since Midnight's death, he would be looking at the sun on that day and smile wickedly. Frankly, it scared the rest of us. We just didn't know what to think."

Meanwhile, Flurry and Sunlight had also sniffed out another mystery and had begun their own investigation. They looked all around the mausoleum and the cemetery, and found nothing on their first two tries. Then, the day before the Summer Sun Celebration, while everypony else was busily getting ready, they crept back and looked around one more time. After finding the piece of string that helped convict Sharpshooter, they were determined to solve this crime as well.

But after searching for two hours, they had come up empty hooved. "I'm not giving up," Flurry announced with great determination, "we're gonna find whoever stole your sister's body."

"You're darn right, we're gonna find them!" Sunlight squeaked angrily. She had been furious when she found out her sister's body had been stolen. Even though her fellow filly had been one of the most evil ponies in Equestrian history, she still felt a sisterly connection with her. She wanted to find the culprit as much as anypony did.

After splitting apart and searching for a few more minutes, Sunlight suddenly jerked her small head up and yelled urgently, "Flurry Heart! Come here! I found something!" Flurry stopped what she was doing and raced over to her cousin. They both stared at the mysterious item that Sunlight had located.

"It's…a Pegasus feather," Flurry said, "but who does it belong to?"

Sunlight could only shrug her shoulders. The feather was resting on a tombstone near the mausoleum. It was a very small feather, much too small to be from a fully grown adult Pegasus. The two fillies stood and stared at it for a moment, trying to deduce who might have left it there. If they figured that out, then they could question that pony.

But the small grey feather didn't belong to any Pegasi they knew. The only one they could think of was Derpy, and she was too sweet and too dumb to pull off a crime like this. "No," Sunlight said, "it couldn't be Derpy!"

"Unless under all of that good natured clumsiness lies a criminal mastermind, which, let's face it, is an intensely odd and stupid proposition…then I'll have to agree with you. Plus, the feather's much too small." Flurry said.

The two fillies put Derpy out of their minds, and tried their hardest to think of any other Pegasi who could have pulled this off. The thought that it might be one of the colts or fillies in their village made both of them shudder. But the grey coloration of the feather threw them for a loop. They didn't know any grey Pegasus foals.

"Flurry…?" Sunlight asked

"Yeah?"

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"If you're thinking that it has to have been a foal from another town, then yeah, I'm thinking that."

Flurry nodded eagerly. "Yeah, that's exactly what I'm thinking!"

"If that's the case, then we're royally screwed," Flurry said, "I mean, the Summer Sun Celebration's tomorrow! We don't have time to go hunting for a Pegasus foal who could be Celestia knows where by now!"

Sunlight drooped a bit. She wanted very much to go hop on the train with her cousin and continue this adventure. But, she conceded to what Flurry said and they both ran back towards the Castle of Friendship. On the way there, a thought struck Sunlight and she skidded to a stop. Flurry turned and asked, "what's wrong?" 

"What if…what if somepony's figured out how to use magic to bring somepony else back to life?" Sunlight conjectured in earnest. "If that's the case, then somepony could have brought my sister back to life weeks ago and never told anypony!"

"That's preposterous!" Flurry said, "I mean, how could the guards have not noticed Midnight missing until now? They said her casket was gone at the funeral. It's only been three days, Sunlight!"

"But listen," Sunlight squeaked, "I overheard my Mommy talking with one of the investigating ponies, and he said that the guards were tricked. Whoever did this, left a fake coffin with a fake Midnight inside! He also said that they couldn't find one of Midnight's former followers during their investigation!"

"Was it a Pegasus foal?"

"I think so," Sunlight said, "the description he gave Mommy was a bit muddled from where I was standing, but I think I heard him say 'small, grey, Pegasus foal!'"

"Then that would match whoever left this feather," Flurry said, pointing to the feather that was riding on her wing. "We have to get back to the castle!" With that, the two fillies turned tail and ran full boar towards Sunlight's home.


	15. Deception and Punishment

Sunlight and Flurry arrived back at the castle, completely out of breath. They stopped in the middle of the hall outside the throne room and took one look at each other. They were about to confess their dishonesty to their family and friends for a second time, but this time it was crucial. They knew they would accept whatever punishment that Twilight and Flash decided to give them.

"Ready?" Sunlight asked.

"Ready," Flurry said with a determined nod. They ran into the throne room, expecting to find everypony there. They found just Flash and Twilight, who were giving them intensely stern looks. The look Flash gave them was so filled with disappointment and anger, that it caused Sunlight to shrink away from her father. She had never done that before. Normally, she would run and jump on him and squeal and laugh with delight.

Flash walked over and faced the two dishonest fillies. "Sunlight, I just don't know what I'm going to do with you," he said, "you've always been such a good little filly. I don't know where this late string of deception has come from, but it's got to stop!"

Twilight stepped forward, giving her niece and daughter the same look. "Don't think you'll get any sympathy from me, young fillies!" She said sharply, "you could've been hurt or even killed. It's an incredibly dangerous situation!"

"But you don't even know where we were," Flurry protested. She found it unfair of her aunt and uncle to judge her when they didn't even know the full situation. But Flash gave her an even harder look. "Don't get smart with me, Flurry Heart! One magic horn call to your parents and your little vacation here gets cut short! Do you understand, young filly?"

Now, it was Flurry's turn to shrink away. She had never known her uncle to be so angry about something. She didn't realize that his anger came from a good place. He loved his niece and daughter with all his heart, and he didn't want them to get hurt or worse. While he put on a stone visage outside, inside he was trembling with fear at the unknown. What would he do without his dear little Sunlight or his favorite niece, Flurry?

"We know exactly where you were," Twilight said sternly, "we know you two have been sneaking out to investigate the cemetery. Now, for the last time, leave it to the Ponyville Police!"

"But, Mommy," Sunlight said softly, "last time we did this, we caught Sharpshooter."

"You two got very lucky last time," Twilight said, "and I was so happy that you caught that evil witch that I forgot to give you your punishment. I don't like dishonesty in ponies. It kills friendships and it goes against the very code of the Elements of Harmony."

"But…"

"No buts, Sunlight!" Twilight said, "I don't want to hear another word. Now, Flurry, come here."

Flurry walked over with her tail drooping. "I'm afraid you'll have to go back to The Crystal Empire."

"But, Auntie Twily, you said I could watch The Summer Sun Celebration from here! Mom and Dad agreed to it! You aren't being fair!"

"Watch your tongue, young filly," Flash said sternly, "you may not be as young as you were, but you aren't fully grown yet. You have a lot to learn."

"Yes, Uncle Flash," Flurry said as she gave Sunlight a sad look. They had never missed watching Celestia raise the sun on that all-important day. They always watched it together. But this year, it looked as if their dishonesty had gotten them into more trouble than they could have imagined. "I'll go pack my things," she said as she turned to walk out.

But then she suddenly turned. _No, _she said, _we have important evidence that they need to see. _She walked up to her uncle and dropped the grey feather at his hooves. "Here, Uncle Flash," she said, "we found this." Then she turned and dragged her way out of the room, devastated at the thought of being separated from her beloved cousin.

Flash picked up the feather. He turned and looked at his wife. Her purple eyes were almost unreadable. Was she happy that they had this new evidence, or was she still distraught at the dishonesty of their daughter? _Man, _he thought, _even though her expression is off…she's still the most beautiful sight I've ever laid eyes on._

Then he turned back to his daughter. Her own blue eyes were filled with tears. She threw herself on her father and began sobbing. "I'm so sorry, Daddy!" She cried, "please don't make Flurry go back! Please! We always watch Celestia raise the sun together! Please don't take that away!"

"Oh, my precious Sunlight," he said as he bent down and tenderly picked her up in his wing. He cradled her as her tears continued rolling freely. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but this is the way it has to be. You two broke a rule, and when you break a rule, a punishment is what happens. What I'm more upset about is that you lied to your mother and me."

"We just wanted to help…"

"I know you did, but there are other ways to help than by lying and willfully putting yourselves in a dangerous situation. Now, you need to be punished as well."

Sunlight sniffed a bit and nodded. She accepted whatever was coming her way. She was already mentally berating herself for going along with Flurry's little investigation plan. But her sense of excitement, wonder, and adventure had gotten the better of her and now she was paying the price for it.

Her father set her down and led her over to one of the thrones. "Bend over," he commanded. Her eyes welled up a bit once again. She knew what was coming. She had been spanked before, but thankfully her father had always been merciful and spared her as much as he could. But this time, she had broken a big rule and she didn't know if that same compassionate nature would make itself known.

Flash quickly began swatting her with his hoof. She cried at each sting, but she never blamed her father for anything. She was pleasantly surprised when the punishment ended after four hits. She turned around and her father embraced her. He allowed her to cry freely into his shoulder.

"You know this hurts me more than it hurts you, right?" He asked her. She nodded and bent back to look at him. "I'm so sorry, Daddy," she said through a thick voice.

"You're forgiven, Sunlight Dawn," he said tenderly, "and I want you to know that you'll always be forgiven. Your mother and I love you dearly. That's why we punish you. We want you to grow up to be the best mare you can be, and good adult ponies are honest. You know better than to lie to us, Sunlight. That's why we got so upset with you. I know you lied to try and help catch somepony that was doing something wrong, but, as Celestia once told your mother, the truth is always better than a well meant lie."

Sunlight nodded and smiled at her father, who smiled right back. By this point, her mother had joined the embrace and the two parents cradled their filly between them. Sunlight's heart warmed at the idea that her parents did love and care for her so much. She figured that they didn't punish her because they wanted to, but because they cared enough to. Bad parents would have let her go right on doing what she was doing.

But she had one question for them. "Does Flurry really have to go back?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes, darling, she does. When we say something, we mean it. I just had a magic horn call with Aunt Cadance, and she was furious with Flurry. She agreed that she should return home. I'm sorry, dear. You'd probably better go say goodbye. She's leaving on the next train." Sunlight drooped a bit. She loved her cousin so much and wanted to celebrate the Summer Sun with her. But she accepted her mother and father's decision. So, she turned and left the room to bid her cousin farewell.


	16. The Summer Sun Celebration

Sunlight and Flurry Heart's farewell was an extended affair, filled with many tears. The two fillies apologized to each other profusely for their part in the deception. Twilight and Flash walked into the room in the middle of all this, and immediately ran to try and console the two. They explained that all had been forgiven and, even though they had both been punished severely, their love still surrounded them. This idea warmed the hearts of the fillies and they knew they would be together again soon.

Flash, Twilight, and Sunlight accompanied Flurry out of the castle and to the train station. When they got there, they saw that the train wouldn't be arriving for a few more minutes. Sunlight and Flurry were ecstatic, because that meant they got to spend some more time together. They quickly moved away from Sunlight's parents and began speaking in low tones.

"I love you, you know that, right, Flurry?" Sunlight asked. Flurry nodded eagerly. "Of course I know that, Sunlight! I love you, too. We're cousins…"

"You mean sisters," Sunlight said.

Flurry chuckled, amused at her cousin's eagerness to have a sibling. "Well, almost. You can consider me an older sister, but no matter how much we tell each other that, we're still just cousins. But that doesn't mean that we can't love each other like sisters." They both laughed and embraced, happy to be with each other for a short time more.

But that time quickly drew to a close as the train whistle signaled the end of Flurry's time in Ponyville. "I guess that's my ride," Flurry said as she used her magic to pick up her luggage. The two fillies walked back over and Flurry bade her aunt and uncle farewell. They hugged her in turn and told her how much they loved her before she boarded the Friendship Express, bound for The Crystal Empire.

It was difficult for Sunlight the rest of that day. She wanted so much to have somepony else to play with and do things with, but that was not the case. She sat in her room, bored to absolute tears. It seemed as if her parents had thrown up a brick wall between her and Flurry Heart. Her small mind tried to process why her parents had sent her cousin back home, but she couldn't come up with an answer. She loved her parents so much, and she understood why they had punished her. But shouldn't Flurry's punishment have been left to her own parents?

_No! _She suddenly told herself, _it was that kind of thinking that put Midnight on the path to treachery and evil. I won't walk that same path. I am a Princess of Equestria, the daughter of royalty, and I will conduct myself becomingly. _With those thoughts, she set herself on a path that would unknowingly lead to the biggest collision Equestria had ever seen.

The next day was the Summer Sun Celebration, and ponies everywhere were absolutely giddy for it. It was to be held in the great metropolis of Manehattan, and Sunlight and her friends and family awoke early that morning to be on the train there. She had already asked if Flurry and her family would be there, but received a negative response. Her father told her that Cadance and Shining Armor were punishing their daughter by having her stay home during the celebration. "They can see the sun rise just as easily from there as you can in Manehattan," Flash had told a disappointed Sunlight.

On the train ride to Manehattan, Sunlight had the chance to do a lot of thinking. She realized just how terrible it was of her to lie to her parents like that, even though she and Flurry meant no harm by it. She determined in her heart that she would never lie and disrespect her parents and her title like that again. _I am a princess, _she told herself, _not a lying, deceiving pony. That was Midnight…and I will NOT be Midnight! _

She looked out the window as the trees and farms of middle Equestria whizzed by them at top speed. She wondered what her cousin was doing, and she hoped that her aunt and uncle had taken it easy on her after banning her from Manehattan for the celebration. She wished so much to be able to return to the past and undo all the damage she and Flurry had done by lying. But the strain was present on their relationships with both sets of parents, and it would take a lot to regain that trust.

But within her thoughts about Flurry lay an excitement unmatched by any other. Fillies and colts always look forward to the Summer Sun Celebration, and Sunlight was no exception. It was the only night of the year when the young ones were allowed to stay up all night. They took full advantage of the allowance, sometimes to unfortunate extremes. Sunlight remembered hearing about a group of foals who ran off into Applejack's orchard. Their parents were absolutely frantic, and it took the Ponyville Police two weeks to finally locate them. Unfortunately, three small ponies had been killed by Timberwolves. The others were badly injured and were taken to the hospital for three months and multiple surgeries.

_Whatever happens, I'm sticking close to Mommy and Daddy, _she told herself as the train whistled and slowed into the Manehattan station. The ponies all excitedly went out the doors of their car and walked through one of the oldest train depots in Equestria. This was Mare Central Station, and it had always been on Sunlight's bucket list.

"You wanna see the big clock in the middle, Sunlight?" Flash asked. Sunlight beamed. Of course she wanted to see it! It was an Equestrian landmark! So Flash, seeing his daughter's excitement, scooped her up and she took a look at it. It was magnificent. A white face and black numbers spoke the time to everypony who looked that way. Ticket booths surrounded it, and ponies raced by there in their thousands, in a rush to get to their various destinations.

Flash, Twilight, Starlight, Sunlight and their friends made their way through the station and out into the blinding sunlight. Even though they were surrounded by tall skyscrapers, there was still plenty of sunshine to be had. It seemed as though Celestia had caused the sun to shine brighter that day.

The group made its way up the street, surrounded by bodyguards. With the arrival of the mysterious note and the sudden disappearance of Midnight's body, Twilight and Flash didn't want to take any chances with their daughter there. So they had ordered a full protective detail to surround them.

Unfortunately, protecting them wasn't exactly easy. They were mobbed by fans, hoping to get a glimpse of the young filly princess and her family. Sunlight shrank away from them. She didn't like these crowds. They were all yelling at her and shoving papers in her face, looking for an autograph. _Come on, guys! I'm just a pony! I'm just like you! _She yelled internally. She wanted to tell them all to back off, but she didn't want to be rude.

Their security detail did what they could, but it was nearly impossible. The small group was simply outnumbered. They fought their way through the horde of ponies and finally reached their hotel. They were quickly escorted inside by the friendly staff members and shown to their suite for the evening.

"UGH!" Twilight finally said when they were alone, "did you ever see so many ponies in your life?!"

Flash shook his head. "I guess we're just used to the small town life," he said, "but we'll have to adjust. After all, we're here for a week after the celebration."

"Why did Celestia have to put the annual Friendship Summit right after the celebration? I don't think I'll make it!"

Flash grabbed her in a surprise hug and gave her a prolonged kiss. Sunlight looked at her parents oddly. As most fillies do, she had always wondered about kissing. Did her mother and father really enjoy that simple gesture? It seemed weird to her. Why did the mutual exchange of affections and love have to involve their lips touching?

Flash stopped and gave his daughter a goofy look. Sunlight laughed right out loud. Her Daddy could be so funny sometimes! "Daddy, that's silly!" She said as she giggled. "Oh, no, it's not," he said, "it's the reaction your mother gives me."

"Do I give you that reaction?"

"Well, whenever you do something I can't explain, sometimes I'll get this way. But mostly, you make me wanna do this!"

He picked her up with his wing and began swinging her around. She laughed and squealed with delight. She loved it when her father did fun things with her, and she let him know it. "Faster, Daddy!" She said as he continued spinning. He obliged and went a little bit quicker. Her mother gave him a worried look. "Be careful, Flash!"

"Alright, alright, Twily," he told her, "I'll put her down." So he stopped and set his daughter back on the floor. "Now, you need to get some rest," he told her, "remember, we have to stay up all night tonight. We're supposed to meet Celestia and Luna at midnight."

Sunlight nodded and trotted off to her room. The suite had rooms for everypony, and Sunlight got one of the biggest. She quickly climbed onto the bed and magically pulled the covers up over her. She snuggled into her pillow and soon was sound asleep. But her sleep was plagued by horrifying dreams of her deceased sister. She saw Midnight harming adult ponies and ruthlessly slaughtering foals. A force seemed to hold her back from doing anything to help. Then she looked up at the sky and saw this written in the clouds: "The Summer Sun Celebration shall be Equestria's final hour."

She tossed and turned and tried to get rid of the terrible dream, until she finally awoke. She sat straight up in bed, drenched in sweat. She looked out the window and realized that Luna had hung the moon for the night. She got up and quickly ran into the other room. She found her parents and her friends there, busily making preparations to leave.

"There you are, Sunlight," her mother said, "come on, sweetie. We have to get ready to go. It's 11:15, and we've got to go meet Celestia and Luna." Her mother quickly helped her get dressed and they returned looking very regal. Rarity beamed at the small one's wardrobe, partially because she had created it, and raced over. "Darling, you look fabulous!" She said in her usual way, "I knew gold would look good on you, but I never realized you could pull it off in such a glamorous way!"

"Rarity," Twilight said, "my filly is not a fashion model." "Oh, come now, Twilight," Rarity said a bit, "can't I marvel for a moment?" Twilight rolled her eyes and nodded. Rarity continued gushing over the way Sunlight looked as the detail walked to the door and headed towards their party.

When they arrived, Sunlight ran up to Celestia. "Aunt Celestia!" She said, using the term of endearment she had for one of her frequent foal sitters. "My little Sunlight!" Celestia said as she smiled at the filly, "how are you?"

"I'm good. I can't wait to watch you raise the sun!"

"It's not long now," Celestia said, "now, where are your parents?"

"We're right here, Celestia," Twilight said as they walked up. They bowed in respect and Celestia bowed back. Twilight gave her former teacher a hug and she and Flash spent most of the rest of the night talking with her. Sunlight ran around the party, making friends with some of the fillies that she met. What she didn't see were two foals wearing the same type of cloak that Sharpshooter had been wearing.

Soon enough, the time arrived and Celestia called for the party to be silent. Then, she and Luna went through the annual ritual. Luna gingerly brought the moon to the end of its nightly duties, and Celestia flew through the sky, raising the sun to its proper height. The ponies all cheered. Summer was finally there! The foals loved this time, especially, because it meant the end of a lot of hard work and the beginning of a lot of freedom and play.

But then, the sun was suddenly seized from Celestia's control. She tried to regain it, but whatever was controlling it had it completely in its grasp. Celestia was thrown down beside Twilight, and two new ponies appeared on the royal dais. They were cloaked foals, but they quickly threw aside their coverings. Everypony gasped as they recognized them. "BOW BEFORE YOUR NEW KING AND QUEEN!" The filly screamed in hatred. Twilight couldn't believe her eyes. The colt was Iron Wing, the foal that they had been searching for. The filly…was Midnight herself.


	17. Midnight's Return

The ponies could only stare in absolute bewilderment at the sight that now forced itself upon their eyes. They all wanted to tear away, to run back to wherever it was that they came from as quickly as they could, but something kept them fixed to that spot. Their brains froze and turned into complete sludge. Their hooves melted into the ground. Their worst fear had been realized. Midnight, by some method of dark magic, had been resurrected and had returned to try and destroy them once again.

The small black filly looked at the crowd in a rage. "I SAID BOW, YOU MORONS!" She shrieked, "BOW, OR SUFFER YOUR ULTIMATE DEMISE!" With the threat of death looming large, everypony went to their knees. They trembled at the hooves of the two foals, who laughed uproariously at the frightened state that they had caused.

"Oh, this is so much fun, baby!" Iron Wing proclaimed loudly.

Midnight nodded. "Of course it is. Now kiss me while they tremble!"

The two foals began kissing very obnoxiously. The entire sight was incredibly revolting to everypony else. Twilight had to stop herself from regurgitating the small amount of hors d'oeuvres she had consumed. She couldn't believe that her deceased daughter was standing there in front of her. But even more than that, she couldn't believe that a former princess of Equestria was committing herself to such a disgusting public display. The two foals seemed to gain some type of pleasure from watching the fear of the other ponies.

They finished their small, yet somehow overbearing exchange of affection, then Midnight moved over to where her mother cowered before her. She laughed and squealed. "Oh, Mother," she said in a voice that created ice on Twilight's back, "it is truly a great honor to watch you cowering before me in fear. You're afraid of your own daughter! You, the brave Princess of Friendship, who has saved Equestria from countless monsters, are complete putty in the hooves of your offspring! Truly, Zecora's prophecy has been fulfilled this day, and you are all IN MY GRASP!"

She laughed once again, thoroughly reveling in the shock that she was causing. But what the trembling ponies didn't know was that she had returned with a secret weapon. It was a weapon so deadly and powerful, that nopony in Equestria could have ever imagined it could exist. Perhaps a human might, but then again, humans don't live in magical realms dominated by friendship.

She turned to a random pony and her eyes became green. Purple flames shot from her sockets as she fired up a malicious looking spell. Her horn became black as night and she muttered something in some forgotten ancient tongue. A beam of epic proportions shot forth and engulfed the hapless pony. Their eyes also turned green and they began screaming horrifically. "NO! PLEASE, NO! NOT THAT! NOT THAT!" They shrieked over and over again while Midnight looked on, gloating silently.

After a minute or two, the screaming died down and the pony lay on her side, trembling and muttering, "so…much…failure…" She continued this repetitiously as Midnight laughed triumphantly. Twilight took a look at her daughter, who had somehow turned more evil than she had been before. Her viciousness knew no boundaries, and she was hell bent on making Equestria hers to command.

She turned back to her mother. "See, Mommy? Look at this! This is what my magic can do! This is what you kept down all those years! This is the true unlocked potential of the ALMIGHTY MIDNIGHT MARE!"

"Oh, my dearest Midnight Sun," Twilight said as tears came to her eyes, "how I love you. How I wish with all my heart that you would turn to good instead of evil. But I know that you are too far gone. I don't even know the pony that stands in front of me anymore, nor do I consider you my daughter. I don't know how you came back from the dead, but trust me, I will return you to your grave!"

"Oh? You will? Good luck," Midnight said cynically. "By the way, if you're wondering how I came back, here's a hint: The Principle of Zagunis."

The ponies all gasped. Celestia and Luna looked at each other in horror. Twilight looked up at Midnight. "The Principle of Zagunis? You mean the evil pony sorceress who tried to usurp Equestria from Celestia thousands of years ago? That Zagunis?"

"The same," Midnight responded curtly.

"I know you don't give two hoof prints about Equestrian law, but the study of that evil mare's teachings is expressly forbidden! Who gave you this power?"

"Oh, nopony gave it to me. It was given to my dear husband, Iron Wing, here."

"Husband? You'll be married to him over my dead body!"

"Well, that can be arranged…Mommy. Of course, if you want to keep quiet, we'll reconsider that option."

Twilight realized that she was in no position to make threats, so she kept her mouth shut. Midnight stepped onto the highest platform and addressed the entire party. "PONIES OF EQUESTRIA, I AM YOUR NEW MISTRESS! I HOLD YOUR FEAR IN MY HOOVES! WITH THIS BEAM, I CAN SHOW YOU YOUR DARKEST FEARS, THANKS TO SOME HELP FROM KING SOMBRA!"

More gasps were heard. "King Sombra?!" Celestia asked in a panic, "but…he…I thought he was destroyed!"

"Once again, The Principle of Zagunis comes into play. It was very easy to resurrect the dead king; and, with the promise of The Crystal Empire if we won, it was also very easy to sway him to our side!"

Twilight continued staring at her daughter in disbelief. How could her offspring have turned out to be so wretched? She had given birth to a demon, and all the memories of Midnight's first assault on Equestria came flooding back into her mind. She turned and looked at Sunlight, who trembled at her hooves. She gently curled her tail around her other daughter. "It's all gonna be alright," she whispered, trying to calm her.

Suddenly, Sunlight stopped trembling and took on a look that betrayed her own wisdom. Her coat seemed to glow. "Yes, Mother," she said solemnly, "I believe you. But I have to go."

"Go? No, young filly! You stay put!"

But it was too late. Sunlight had already teleported herself away from the party and into the streets of Manehattan. She ran along the boulevards, passing hundreds of dazed ponies who were watching everything unfold on Equestrian television. The big screens in Hay Square were all broadcasting Midnight's spitting hatred, and Sunlight noticed that even the ponies on the streets were trembling in fear. _I've got to stop her, _she thought to herself, _and I know just who I need to help me!_

She quickly ran and got on board the Friendship Express. She looked back and noticed that the skies around Manehattan were beginning to turn orange as Midnight gained more power. She ran up to the conductor and unfurled her wings. "As a Princess of Equestria, I order you to take this train to The Crystal Empire as fast as possible!"

The conductor, recognizing Sunlight, immediately nodded and told the engineer. The train whistled loudly and began racing along its tracks at top speed. Sunlight was pushed back against her seat. She didn't realize that this train went this fast. She knew The Crystal Express could go very quickly, but it was a bullet train. This was a normal, steam powered train.

On the way to her cousin's home, she had the chance to map out a strategy for beating Midnight and Iron Wing. _I may have to kill them, _she said, _and if that's the case, so be it. I must protect Equestria and my family and friends. Midnight's downfall is imminent, and this time, I'll make sure she stays in the grave forever._


	18. Cousins Reunited

Flurry sat in her room, trying to dry away the latest wellspring of tears that had sprung from somewhere deep within her. When she had returned home, her parents had been absolutely enraged at what she had done. They couldn't believe that the daughter they had brought up to be respectful, obedient, and courteous in all things had committed such a deception. They had immediately banned her from attending the Summer Sun Celebration in Manehattan and grounded her for three weeks after that.

She thought she had ever seen her father that angry before. He had actually frightened her a bit, and she had shrunk away from him, much like Sunlight did with Flash. Her backside still hurt from the spanking she had been given. But the punishment had done its due diligence. She had learned her lesson very well. She swore up and down she would never sneak off and investigate anything after her parents or aunt and uncle told her not to ever again.

She was also banned from watching television, so she had to sit in her room alone while her parents and friends enjoyed the Summer Sun Celebration broadcast. This she found to be a little unfair. _I mean, for crying out loud! I've already been spanked, grounded, and banned from attending the celebration in Manehattan! What else do they wanna do to me?! _The filly felt like she was missing out on a lot of fun things, and she couldn't help but blame her parents just a little bit for it.

Suddenly, as she was sitting there thinking, her door burst open. She turned suddenly and dodged another small pony's body. Whoever it was nearly knocked Flurry over, and the filly yelped in protest. "Hey!" She said, "who in the world do you think you are?! I'll have you know this is a private residence!"

She turned back to face her intruder, and her face broke into a huge smile as she recognized Sunlight. "Sunlight!" She said in excitement as she raced over to help her cousin to her hooves. The two embraced, happy to be back with each other for the time being. "What the hay are you doing here?!" Flurry asked.

"Good, you haven't been watching television," Sunlight said.

"Um…it's good to see you too," Flurry said in bewilderment. Normally, Sunlight would greet her in a cheery way, not cryptically and darkly.

"Look, it's wonderful to see you, but we have to go! We have to get to Canterlot!"

"Canterlot?! Why do we need to go to Canterlot?!"

"Come with me," was all Sunlight said as she led Flurry out of her room and down the steps of the Crystal Castle. They maneuvered their way into the throne room, where Cadance and Shining Armor were having their own party to watch Celestia raise the sun. The fillies ducked in and hid behind Flurry's father's throne.

"Now," Sunlight whispered, "I want you to look out at your parents, and ONLY at your parents. Do NOT look at the TV screen, no matter what you do!"

So Flurry cautiously peered out from behind the throne and saw that her parents and the rest of their guests were staring at the screen. Their eyes had turned green, and the color seemed to be completely gone from their coats. Drool hung loosely from the lips of more than a few ponies, and they seemed to be in a complete trance. Their mouths were half open, almost in a silent plea for help from somepony who never seemed to arrive.

Flurry was scared to death and she turned back to her cousin. "What…the…heck?"

Sunlight nodded in understanding. "I know. Frightening, isn't it? I couldn't believe it myself, but the television screens down in Trotdale were doing the same thing."

"Trotdale?"

"The Friendship Express had to make a small stop there while I was coming up here. One of the brakes wasn't working right and they had to fix it. While we were there, I ran around town and looked at all the televisions that were broadcasting The Summer Sun Celebration. I noticed a pattern between the broadcasts and the ponies who were in a trance. Sunlight…it's Midnight."

"WHAT?!" Flurry yelled before Sunlight snapped her mouth shut. "Listen! They're all under Midnight's control! She's feeding them fear, and that's what's keeping them entranced. We have to get to Canterlot and stop her!"

"But…how?" Flurry asked as her voice returned to a whisper. Sunlight proceeded to tell her the entire story, and how Midnight had ripped the sun away from Celestia and basically taken over Equestria.

Flurry's mouth fell open. "So…she was resurrected," she said, "and if that's the case, then…"

"…then Equestria is in grave danger," Sunlight said seriously.

"So that's why you want to go to Canterlot."

"It's not why I want to go there, it's why we NEED to get there," Sunlight said, "I think I've figured out Midnight's plan. Look, she's not building an army. She's simply trying to gain control of seven ponies."

"The princesses of Equestria!"

Sunlight nodded. "You, me, Mommy, Celestia, Luna, Aunt Cadance, and Aunt Starlight."

"And if she has them…oh, my Celestia, the damage she could cause! Come on! We've gotta get to Canterlot!"

Sunlight smiled, grateful to have her cousin by her side once again. Their bond had been strained by the recent deception and punishment, but now they would have to put that aside and save the nation. Midnight's wrath knew no bounds, and she would slaughter ponies without question. Even now, the blood of the innocent might be running rampant through the streets of both Manehattan and Canterlot.

So the fillies turned and ran from the castle. "Come on," Sunlight said, "we have to get to the Friendship Express!"

"Who said anything about that slow train?" Flurry asked with a wink, "we're taking the bullet train!" Sunlight nodded as she realized that her cousin's plan would get them to Canterlot much more efficiently than her own.

So they ran towards the Crystal Express and hopped on board. Flurry unfurled her wings and ordered the conductor to take them to Canterlot at top speed. The other pony bowed to her in respect and commanded the engineer to do so. So they flew away from Canterlot at break neck speed. But even at that enormous pace, it would still take an hour or so to get there. That hour was a precious one, and the fillies spent it strategizing.

"We can't waste a second when we get there," Flurry said. Then, she realized something. "Hey, wait a minute…how the heck do you know Midnight's even in Canterlot?"

"Because I was able to get a look at a TV set when Midnight's eyes weren't glaring into the camera. I recognized the surroundings. She was in Celestia and Luna's throne room, and she had our friends there as her slaves!"

Flurry nodded as the seriousness of the situation sunk in even more. "OK," she said, "I'm thinking we do this as quietly as possible."

Sunlight nodded in return. "I agree. Look, I know that castle inside and out. Celestia once gave me a private tour of it. There's air ducts we can crawl through that go right over the throne room. We're both just the right size!"

"Yeah, and then we drop in on Midnight and take her by surprise!"

"But we can't forget about…Iron Wing." Here Sunlight stopped and retched a bit at the memory of Iron Wing and Midnight's small public display of obnoxious affection. "Are you OK?" Flurry asked. Midnight nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. They were just making out excessively while I was there. But, putting that to the side, we still can't forget about him. He'll be doing everything to keep Midnight alive. She feeds his ego, and he loves it."

"Remind me, whenever I get a stallion, to not get one with an ego to feed," Flurry said. Sunlight laughed. "Yeah, that goes double for me…But maybe we can use his enormous ego to our advantage! If one of us goes in disguised as an Iron Wing fan, he won't be able to help strutting and showboating a bit."

"But what about the air ducts?"

"That'll be a solo pony mission. Listen, I'll handle the air ducts if you handle Iron Wing."

"But why do I have to handle him?"

"He'd recognize me in an instant! You may be a princess of Equestria, but you're also somepony he and Midnight haven't been around too much."

"But what if they were hiding in plain sight in Ponyville all the time I was there?"

Sunlight stopped short as she realized Flurry was right. They could've been hiding within the massive crowds that Ponyville had at that time of year. All they had to do was remain well blended into the mass of ponies, and they could escape visual contact. _Hay cakes and horse feathers! _She said internally, _now, what'll we do? _

Then she started a bit and turned to Flurry. "Yes…yes…YES!" She suddenly squeaked.

"What?! What is it?!" Flurry asked

"The spell Mommy was teaching me before the celebration! _Dissimula Tempus! _We can use it!"

"_Dissimula Tempus…_wait, that's Old Pony for Temporary Disguise! Do you really think it could work?!" 

"Of course! Here, let me try it on you."

"OK…" Flurry said nervously. As much as she loved and trusted her cousin, she knew that Sunlight wasn't exactly an expert when it came to firing magic blasts. "Be careful," she said, "I don't wanna end up in a permanent disguise."

Sunlight nodded and fired up her small horn. She blasted Flurry and turned her from a nice young filly, into a rather fetching young mare. She had retained her blue eyes, but her mane was now blonde and her coat was a light gold. "There!" Sunlight said triumphantly, "I've disguised you as…my mommy's friend from the human world, Sunset Shimmer!"


	19. Distracting Iron Wing

The Crystal Express chugged along the tracks, making its way towards the capital of Canterlot. On the way there, Flurry grew more steadily worried as the sky began changing from its normal crystal blue to an evil orange and finally to a revolting green. Midnight had taken complete control over the elements of Equestria, and it was very apparent. Still, Flurry knew they had to try and take her out. They had to bring her to justice. She had enslaved Equestria and was most likely killing ponies as they traveled.

"Do you think she's the one responsible for Sharpshooter's hit list?" She asked Sunlight.

Sunlight nodded. "I have no doubt of it. She wanted to try and kill all of our parents' friends before she went after our mothers. But we stopped Sharpshooter mid-assault, and Midnight's plan was wrecked before it could reach an apex."

"I guess you're right. But if she's that malicious and malevolent, how the hay are we gonna stop her?! We're just fillies!"

"You're not exactly a filly anymore, Flurry," Sunlight said with a smirk. She pointed to Flurry's newly disguised body. Her yellow coat glistened, and her blue eyes glowed. Still, she was nervous about her part in Sunlight's operation. She didn't know how to distract ponies.

"So…to recap, I distract Iron Wing while you break into the palace and take care of Midnight for good, right?"

"Right."

"But…how am I supposed to do that?"

"You know, be flirtatious and seductive. In other words, do what you see your Mommy do to your Daddy sometimes."

Flurry thought long and hard, but she didn't think she had ever seen her mother and father behave in that fashion. True, they shared the appropriate public displays between spouses, but other than that, they never committed any form of debauchery. They just hugged and kissed. They were never overbearing or disgusting about it.

"So…I should kiss Iron Wing? If so, then I am out! That's disgusting!"

"I never said you had to kiss him, Flurry! Just wiggle your backside and bat your eyes at him. He's sure to come after you."

"But he said he loves Midnight."

"And you believe him?"

Flurry realized that her cousin made an excellent point. Iron Wing was the most untrustworthy pony in the history of Equestria. She couldn't see him having the same love for Midnight that her mother did for her father or her Aunt Twilight did for her Uncle Flash. She had seen true love demonstrated between the two couples, and she had dreams of experiencing it for herself one day. In that moment, she determined in her heart that she would do whatever it took to distract Iron Wing.

"OK, Sunlight, I think I'm ready."

"Good, because we're just about to Canterlot."

"I did have one more thing I wanted to discuss with you," Flurry said, looking downward. Sunlight noticed her friend's voice change from one of confidence and determination to one of sadness and depression. That was the last thing she needed to be feeling right now.

"Flurry, you've got to remain confident! We're almost ready to launch our attack!"

"I'm confident in that, but…I'm just not confident my Mom and Dad love me as much as they did."

"What?! Flurry, that's crazy!" 

"But, they threw me in my room and grounded me!" 

"So? Flurry, that's called a punishment, and they do it because they love you. If they didn't love you, they would never set any rules or put up any boundaries for you. They just don't want you getting hurt. Come on. You should know better than to think like that!"

"Yeah…I guess I lost my head."

"I know what it feels like to want to blame your parents for something, but the truth is that the fault lies with you. The sooner you learn to accept the blame and forgive yourself for it, the happier you'll be. Trust me."

Flurry looked at her cousin with pride. She had grown into such a wise young filly, and she still wasn't fully grown. If she continued on this trajectory, then she could find herself as one of the smartest and most compassionate mares in Equestria. She had all the makings of a wonderful Princess of Friendship one day.

The fillies had their conversation cut short when The Crystal Express's brakes squealed and they pulled into the Canterlot Station. They disembarked and ran through the streets of the royal city towards the castle. When they got there, they both stopped short. The castle had been completely transformed, and not in a good way. Vines and thorns hung from the sides. A horrible mixture of black, green, purple, and grey covered the outside. A thick layer of slime ran from holes in the sides.

The two fillies gulped and looked at each other. They nodded, silently determining to force their way through the external ugliness. "Now, you're sure this disguise is gonna work," Flurry said, gauging her cousin's reaction. Sunlight nodded furiously. "Of course I'm sure! Look, you're disguised as a hot, sexy young mare! Iron Wing's gonna flip over you! All the young stallions do!"

"Alright…" Flurry said. She still wasn't too sure she could pull off the disguise, but she was definitely going to try her hardest. "So…I just walk up to Iron Wing and wiggle my backside and bat my eyes a bit?"

"Act like you've lost your way and need help finding where to go. Oh, and mention your support of Midnight's regime! He'll eat that up!"

So Flurry, in her Sunset Shimmer disguise, walked over to the front doors of the castle. She knocked and Iron Wing opened it in a huff. "Yeah, what is it?! Come on, I don't got all day!" He said in his thickly accented Manehattan voice.

Flurry immediately turned the charm up to a thousand. "Why, you're Iron Wing! My stars, how I've wanted to meet you. But, alas…I am lost. I was trying to find my way to the meeting of the 'Midnight is the best thing ever to happen in the history of Equestria' Convention, and I got lost along Midnight Street. Do you know the way to Midnight Street #4?"

_Good grief! _Sunlight thought from her hiding spot in the bushes nearby, _Midnight's really named the streets after herself? All of them? Every single one? Wow, that's…remarkably stupid._

Flurry kept working the disguise, batting her bright blue eyes at Iron Wing and wiggling herself. True to Sunlight's word, Iron Wing's eyes bugged out of his head and a huge smile appeared on his face. He leered at Flurry with a suggestive look on his face. "Maybe I can help you find it," he said with great huskiness evident in his voice. He advanced on her in a threatening way. She tried to talk her way out of it, but to no avail.

Sunlight realized that he wanted to take her somewhere and do something with her, and she could bet it wasn't going out for ice cream. She tried to stop him from kidnapping her, but it was too late. He grabbed Flurry and drug her screaming back into the castle. "NO!" Sunlight yelled as she charged from her hiding spot. But she ran right into the front doors of the castle.

Now, Sunlight knew she would have to carry on the rest of the plan by herself. "Alright," she said out loud, "I'm not a scared little filly. I'm a determined little filly. I'm going to find Midnight, and she will pay for this."

With that, she cast a spell on her legs to be able to jump three times as high as the average pony. She leapt from her position and landed on a balcony. She quickly located the nearest air duct and wiggled her way inside, being very careful not to alert the two guards who were standing watch up there. _I will get to Midnight, rescue my family, and give control Equestria back to the princesses! I swear it! _


	20. Royal Fear

Sunlight gently maneuvered her way through the air duct system of the castle. It was a complete labyrinth, but luckily, she had been there so much that she knew exactly where she was. She used to hide in these air ducts when she and Celestia would play hide and seek when she was being sat for. She and Celestia had a special connection, not unlike the one her mother and Aunt Cadance shared, and she always knew that Celestia would find her there. But she still hid there, because she loved it when she was found. A game of tag would ensue, which annoyed the ponies who kept up the palace. They kept quiet about it, because they dared not speak a word against the ruler of Equestria.

As she wiggled through the tight spaces, she couldn't help but notice that she had grown considerably since the last time she was there. _Darn it! _She said to herself, _stupid filly growth spurt! _She had been growing like a small weed over the past couple of months. In fact, her father once told her that she would be as tall as Celestia before her 10th birthday if she continued on her current growth streak.

She ignored the claustrophobic feeling the space gave her and pressed on. She knew she had to get to the throne room and rescue Flurry Heart. She also knew Flurry was still in her Sunset Shimmer disguise, and that it would wear off after only a few hours in it. If Midnight knew that she had captured a princess of Equestria, then there wasn't any telling what she would do to her. She could be dealing with Flurry's death within a matter of moments, and she wasn't prepared for it.

Suddenly, the duct gave way underneath her and she crashed through a vent to the floor below. She found herself staring down her formerly deceased sister, who was seated in Celestia's oaken throne. A great sun was carved in the top of the sacred seat and flames shot from behind it. But Sunlight knew that Midnight was responsible for those flames, not Celestia.

"Ah, my dear sister!" Midnight said in a voice full of fabricated joy and spitting sarcasm, "how wonderful to finally get to meet you face to face!"

"The feeling's mutual," Sunlight said solemnly, "now, let's cut to the chase. Where are my friends and family?"

"Oh, come now. YOUR friends? YOUR family? They're my friends and family too, you know!" 

"Drop the act, Midnight! Where are they?!"

Midnight's face twisted and a smile born of the devil himself appeared. She began cackling in the most horrid voice one can imagine. It sounded as if the very demons of hell and monsters of Tartarus had taken possession of her and were forcing her to do this. But Sunlight knew all too well that this was entirely Midnight. Nothing had possessed her. She was filled with evil, and she wanted to unleash that upon the innocent ponies of Equestria.

The evil filly turned and pointed with her hoof. Her eyes blazed with a malicious fire and the saliva that came from her maw seemed, to Sunlight's eyes, to be the very blood of nations. _Would…I…be saving more than Equestria? _She thought to herself. The burden suddenly became twice as heavy as she realized that she would be saving the entire world from Midnight's rage. She could only hope that whatever marched in the room at Midnight's command was something she could fight off with ease.

But instead, her mouth fell open as every royal pony of Equestria was marched before her eyes, along with all of her friends. Their mouths all hung open and their eyes burned a disgusting green. Midnight stepped down and haughtily paraded herself before them. It was a complete moment of victory for her, and Sunlight began to feel panic for the first time. She wasn't sure she could beat her sister.

"Look, you foolish foal! Gaze upon our mother and father, our aunts and uncle, and the rest of our parents' friends!" Midnight shrieked, "LOOK, YOU PIECE OF PONY TRASH! LOOK!"

"What have you DONE to them?!" Sunlight yelled

"What have I done? Oh, what haven't I done to them," Midnight said as she laughed, "I've cause torturous nightmares to befall them, I've taken the sun and the moon away from Celestia and Luna, and I've cause their darkest fears to be cast upon them on a continuous loop! Every day and every night, they are entranced by their fear! The only voice they hear…is mine! SLAVES! I COMMAND YOU TO BOW TO ME!" At Midnight's scream, the royal ponies and their friends all bowed low and prostrated themselves in front of her.

"DO YOU SEE WHAT I AM CAPABLE OF?!" Midnight screamed in Sunlight's face. But then the little black filly backed off. "No…you haven't seen anywhere near what I'm capable of. See, I know everypony's worst fear." With this, she went pony by pony and explained their darkest fear to the now trembling Sunlight. "Aunt Cadance's worst fear is that she will lose the love and devotion of Uncle Shining. Uncle Shining's worst fear is that someday he'll hurt Aunt Cadance beyond forgiveness."

"But those fears balance out," Sunlight pointed out as she gathered her courage, "that means Aunt Cadance and Uncle Shining really do love each other! If they're both scared that they'll hurt the other one or lose the love and trust that they have, then they'll do anything to protect it!"

"HA! Foolish foal! If they would do anything to protect it and each other, then why do they sit here IN MY GRASP?!"

"Because you put out a television signal that forced them into this disgusting trance!"

"Oh, that TV signal? That had nothing to do with it. That was just simple hypnosis. I turned it into fear after my guards went up, arrested them, and brought them here. Now, may I continue?" 

Sunlight gritted her teeth and restrained herself. She wanted to attack her sister, to kill her and make sure she stayed dead. She wanted Midnight's blood on her hooves. But now wasn't the right time. She was hopelessly outnumbered, and she realized with a sad shock that she might have to end up fighting the very friends and family she was trying so desperately to save. As long as they were in Midnight's clutches, they would do anything she told them to.

"Oh, by all means," Sunlight said sarcastically, "please, continue showing me the worst fears of the ponies I love."

"How you can love anypony is beyond me, because ponies are inherently imperfect beings filled with fear and loathing for anypony else. Now, as I was saying, Celestia and Luna's worst fears go hoof in hoof. They are both scared of turning evil. Ever since Celestia had her vision of turning into the evil Daybreaker, she's been terrified that she will become more and more obsessed with power and influence. Luna is scared to death of turning back into Nightmare Moon. Right now, they are both seeing a haunting vision of Equestria. Celestia sees a land scorched by the sun. No crops grow. The ponies all trudge around, thirsty and tired, and she is the cause of it! Luna is seeing an Equestria where night reigns supreme and eternal. Again, no crops grow and the ponies have nothing to eat. The only thing they have is dirt and the small amount of grass that Nightmare Moon allows. It's a disgusting wasteland."

Sunlight stood firm, even though inside she was quaking something terrible. Just imagining the torture that her family and friends were going through right now was enough to make her want to burst into tears. But she held her ground against her evil sibling. Midnight noticed her stubbornness.

"Alright! If you won't crack at any of that, then I'll just have to get tough! OUR PARENTS!"

This struck Sunlight like the crack of a whip and she very nearly fell over. She didn't want to know what kind of hell her parents were experiencing right now. She just wanted to fight Midnight and get it over with. But she saw that she would have to get through this in order to get to Midnight.

"Our father's worst fear is rather sweet. He's scared of losing you and Flurry Heart. He's so frightened by how he had to punish you."

"But he shouldn't be! He's the parent! He knows what's best for me!"

"HORSE CRAP!" Midnight screamed, "that's what I thought, but I realized that they were only in it for themselves!"

"No, Midnight! YOU'RE only in it for yourself! Mommy and Daddy loved you and cared enough for you to set boundaries!"

"If they truly cared, then they would've let me live my own life!"

"That's not true, and you know it! But keep feeding yourself lies! It will all lead to your eventual downfall!"

"Downfall? I'm not going anywhere," Midnight said sinisterly, "but there's three more fears I need to show you."

"Three more? Mommy's the only pony left in your grasp!"

"Oh? I don't think so. IRON WING!" With that, Midnight's special pony rolled somepony else in. This prisoner was kept in a cage and she looked as if she had been beaten severely. Sunlight gasped. Even through the disguise, she could recognize that pony anywhere. It was Flurry Heart.


	21. Sunlight and Flurry's Darkest Fears

A/N: Hey, guys! Sorry it's been awhile since I uploaded a chapter, but work has been crazy for the past couple of days. Thanks for being patient, and I hope y'all are enjoying this story! Without further ado, let's dive back into Sunlight's adventure.

Sunlight looked at her formerly deceased sister in a complete rage. Her bloodshot eyes narrowed and she gritted her teeth in anger. "Let…her…go," she said. Her tone was not her own anymore. The animosity between herself and Midnight had grown to such a point that it had caused her internal pendulum to fall completely off of its supports. It came crashing down upon her heart, nearly crushing it. The sight of her beloved cousin trapped in a cage caused an avalanche of heartbreak and fury to run rampant throughout her small body.

Midnight looked at her and laughed. "Why should I?! I now have your friends and all your family in my grasp! Look! I have Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Flash, Starlight, and now Flurry! I have every single royal pony in Equestria…except for you."

"But, that's not Flurry," Sunlight said, continuing to play up Flurry's disguise, "that's Mommy's human friend, Sunset Shimmer!"

"Sunset Shimmer? Oh, please! We saw right through Flurry's disguise, Sunlight! We're not brain dead," Midnight said, and then added under her breath, "even though so many villains are these days."

"But…how?"

"How?! Do you really think that our mother's human friend would make a special trip to Equestria just to try and seduce my husband?!"

Sunlight cursed herself silently. She had forgotten all about the fact that Sunset would never make that kind of trip. In fact, Sunset probably had no idea about who Midnight was or the danger Equestria faced. She would be nestled back in the human world, comfortably doing whatever it was that humans did. She didn't have to worry about her safety. Sunlight did, and in doing so, she had put the worst disguise ever on Flurry Heart. She should have just created a completely fictitious mare and disguised Flurry as that.

But she knew that she had to keep going. So, she gritted her teeth once again and stood her ground, refusing to give in to Midnight and her cackling. "I'm not scared of you," she squeaked defiantly, "and I will rescue my friends and family!"

"Oh, you will, will you? Well, let me tell you something, Sunlight Dawn. I know I am not the thing you fear the most. But, considering the fact that I hold Equestrian fright in my very hooves, I do know the thing you fear the most. But first, let me finish with our family."

She walked over to Starlight, who was still entranced by her worst fear. "Aunt Starlight…poor, pitiful Aunt Starlight. The newest princess of Equestria, and a former evil dictator. She's always held reservations about her position in Mother's school and in the country. She's always been scared that, one day, her former self will surface yet again and come to do battle with cutie marks. She's always thrown herself full tilt into friendship so as to combat those inner machinations."

Midnight smiled wickedly as Sunlight realized that her aunt was seeing a continuous loop of her old village. What was happening in there, she couldn't say, but she knew it was far from the happy reunion that her aunt had with the ponies there every time she returned. The vision Starlight was being forced to watch must have been absolutely terrible.

"What is she seeing, Midnight?" 

"Oh, nothing much…just the destruction of her entire life at the hooves of somepony who knows her very well…her own self. She's watching her old self burning the School of Friendship to the ground, wreaking havoc on your castle, and commanding armies of cutie mark-less ponies to spill rivers of blood from their own kind. Oh, it's so beautiful."

Sunlight swore she saw Midnight wipe a tear from her eye. How cruel and mean a pony Midnight was! How utterly evil and viciously sadistic to cry at a vision where ponies everywhere are dying in their thousands! _But…why am I surprised? _Sunlight asked herself, _I mean, this is Midnight we're talking about. She is the most evil force Equestria has ever faced. _She remembered reading in some of the human literature that Twilight returned with about someone called "the devil." She figured that Midnight was the pony version of that creature.

"NOW!" Midnight suddenly screamed, yanking Sunlight out of her reverie, "FOR FLURRY'S WORST FEAR!"

Flurry, who to this point had been silent, suddenly began beating on the door of her cage. "LET ME OUT OF HERE, YOU BUCKING WITCH!" She cursed. Sunlight was a little shocked at the harshness of Flurry's language, but she figured that the situation pressed her into it.

Midnight sneered at Flurry. "Oh, precious little Flurry Heart. The cousin who always got all the attention at those worthless and noxious parties we used to attend together. 'Oh, look at little Flurry Heart! Isn't she cute?!' Nopony noticed me all night!"

"So that's why you hate me?!" Flurry challenged, "because of some stupid party?! Come on, Midnight! I didn't know you could be so petty!"

"Petty? Oh, I'm not being petty. I hate you for the exact same reason I hate Equestria…the so called magic of friendship." This declaration extracted a gasp from Sunlight before the evil one continued. "It's not magic, it's garbage. Did any of my mother's friends care about me? Not a one! Would any of them come to my aid when my parents were treating me so unfairly? No! They say loyalty is an Element of Harmony, well I call bull on that! BUCK THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY!"

Sunlight nearly attacked Midnight. How dare she speak that way about the Elements of Harmony?! They were what controlled Equestria, they were what brought the wonder and magic of friendship to the land. Without them, Equestria would be a friendless, desolate wasteland. In other words, without them, the country would be exactly what Midnight envisioned it being.

But Sunlight stood her ground. She knew that now was not the right time to go on the offensive. Midnight looked at her and smiled viciously. She slowly walked over and put a sarcastic hoof on her sister's shoulder. "If you know what's good for you, you'll remove that hoof at once," Sunlight growled.

"Oh, little Sunlight. I haven't told you what Flurry's worst fear is…"

Suddenly, Midnight shot a blast into Flurry's heart. "NO!" Sunlight shrieked as her cousin convulsed on the floor on the cage. Blood spurted from her mouth and she screamed horribly. Sunlight couldn't believe it. Her best friend was dying in front of her! But then, suddenly, Flurry sat right up. Her Sunset disguise was destroyed and her eyes glowed the same awful green as everypony else.

"I wouldn't kill her right now," Midnight said as she cackled again, "that would be too easy! No, I wanna have some fun. I wanna torture both her and you. She's seeing her worst fear, the fear of losing the love of her parents!"

Sunlight realized that Flurry's recent punishment contributed to that fear. Even though it was completely groundless and totally wrong, Flurry was scared to death that her parents would turn their backs on her. Sunlight knew it was up to her to make her cousin see that her parents would never betray her. They would always love her, even though they had to punish her sometimes. _I guess my little talk on the train with her didn't do any good, _she thought sadly.

Midnight laughed so evilly, Sunlight swore that all of Tartarus was bursting forth from her tiny lungs. "Oh, this is too much! Just seeing you distraught for that cousin of ours makes me happy!"

"Midnight, you really are the worst thing to ever happen to Equestria. I am completely sickened by what I'm witnessing here this day. But I swear to Celestia, I am going to defeat you! I will restore Equestria to its former glory and friendliness! Celestia and Luna will be reinstalled as the rulers of this land! I swear it! Your malodorous malevolence will be driven from this land, forever and ever!"

"You'll have to kill me to beat me! I'm not going anywhere!"

"Then so be it!"

Sunlight prepared to lunge on her sister and fight her to the death, but Midnight beat her to the punch. She shot a blast around her that caused her to be trapped inside a small magic bubble. "Oh, little Sunlight," Midnight said mockingly, "I haven't gotten to your worst fear. The fear of complete and eternal separation from Flurry Heart. You two have a special connection, one that runs deeper than any friendship in the history of Equestria. But if that connection is severed, then you aren't nearly as powerful. Now…watch as I sever that connection!"

She turned and prepared to fire a lethal blast into Flurry Heart, but Sunlight managed to work up a spell of her own and broke free from her small prison. She threw herself on Midnight and began one of the greatest battles in the history of Equestria. A battle to save the land, and a battle to save the very future of friendship.


	22. The End?

Sunlight and Midnight hurled themselves at each other, each with a gleam in her eye unmatched by anything. The violence of the ensuing duel was so intense, that Flurry Heart couldn't bear to watch it. The two fillies stabbed each other with their horns over and over again. Blood poured forth, staining both the carpet and the tiled section of the floor. Sunlight turned her sister into a veritable pin cushion, and Midnight did the same.

After a few minutes of ferocious fighting, the two realized they were at an impasse and decided to take a small break. They backed away from each other, hissing and snarling as they did. Their adrenaline was spiking, and neither of them felt any pain from their wounds. But the sheer amount of blood pouring out of their small bodies was enough to tell them just how serious their injuries were.

Sunlight stumbled over to Flurry's cage and looked at her cousin. The look that was returned was one filled with agony and desperate love. Flurry wanted Sunlight to be safe, and right now safety was a million miles away. There were no words exchanged between the two, only looks of devotion and heartache that would make the toughest Wonderbolt shed more than a few tears.

"Well…shall we resume our fight?" Midnight suddenly asked. She knew she had Sunlight in unfamiliar territory and wanted to take full advantage of it. Sunlight had never been in a fight before, she had, and she wanted to make Sunlight suffer. She didn't want to kill her sister right off the bat, she wanted to hold her down and beat her to a pulp before finishing her.

Sunlight came forward, albeit reluctantly, and the two fillies resumed their scuffle. They continued in a giant ball of screeching, screaming ponies. Sunlight more than held her own against her sister, but in the end, Midnight was too powerful. She turned Sunlight over and pinned her down with her face to the floor.

"SEE?!" Midnight screamed victoriously, "I AM THE GREATEST PONY EQUESTRIA HAS EVER KNOWN! NOPONY CAN BEAT ME! I AM A GOD!" With this vicious proclamation, she stabbed Sunlight in the flank. Sunlight howled as pain shot right through the very core of her being. As the pain ebbed, she was left gasping for air. She had bled way too much, and she knew it. She had to leave while there was still time.

"You…will…never…rule…" She gasped out. Midnight laughed. "Oh, but I'm already ruling. Look, Sunlight! I have our family! I have your friends! I HAVE WON! So just accept it!"

"I will never accept you!" Sunlight growled as she turned back on her sister. She slashed her across the nose and ran off while Midnight held her face in agony. With this sudden burst of energy, she ran over to where Flurry's cage was and quickly undid the lock. Flurry jumped out and the two fillies raced from the room. Midnight noticed what she was doing and screamed, "GUARDS!"

Suddenly, a cavalcade of ponies was released. They ran through the castle, searching for the belligerent and the escapee. Sunlight and Flurry were hiding in a small cranny that they had managed to squeeze themselves into. From here, they observed the search party. Sunlight noticed that they all carried the same terrible green glow in their eyes that they had noticed in their friends and family. "Flurry!" She suddenly said, "those ponies are experiencing their worst fears nonstop as well. If we could find a way to break that hex…"

"No!" Flurry suddenly said sharply, "look, I don't know where this sudden energy boost came from, but it won't last! You've bled out so much in the past few minutes! We have to get out of here and get help!"

"But Flurry, if we can break that curse, then those ponies would surely join us!"

"I don't care right now, Sunlight! The priority is saving you!"

"The priority is saving Equestria! My life is irrelevant!"

"Your life is not irrelevant, Sunlight!" Flurry said as tears came to her eyes, "your life is extremely relevant! You matter, to those enslaved ponies in there, to Equestria…and to me! I love you, Sunlight!"

"I love you too, Flurry," Sunlight said as she smiled, grateful for the warmth of her cousin's affection. It was a sisterly love the two of them shared, and they knew it. Their bond was stronger than ever.

"If you die…I don't know what I'll do!" Flurry said in a panic.

"I'm not gonna die here, not while that monster has Equestria in a death grip. Come on! Let's break those ponies out of their fear! Let's save them…so they can help save the rest of us."

Flurry nodded, realizing that her cousin's plan had a lot of merit to it. She couldn't believe that she was being so selfish. Her cousin didn't belong to her, she belonged to herself and her internal compass was directing her in this way. She believed in Sunlight, and she knew she would follow her until death itself had consumed both of them.

"Alright," she said, "how do we do it?"

"I recently found out what my specialty is when it comes to magic. Aunt Celestia raises the sun, Aunt Luna raises the moon, your mother spreads love, and my mommy casts spells to help friendship. Here's my area: fear. I help drive fear away from ponies. Fear is only in the mind, and if that mind is magically manipulated correctly, then fear cannot reside within it. So you distract the guards long enough for me to work up a spell, and I'll drive their fear away. Then, we'll retreat for the time being. We'll gather some forces and attack Canterlot. Then we'll do away with my sister once and for all." Flurry nodded again and the two prepared to unlock the enslaved guard ponies from their prisons of fright.

Flurry leapt from the hiding spot and ran up and around the guards. She began dancing around like a complete goofball, shouting things like, "look! Here I am," and, "you can't catch me!" She led them on a wild goose chase through the halls, but made sure to keep the pursuit within Sunlight's firing range. Every time she passed their hiding spot, she looked over and Sunlight shook her head. She wasn't quite ready. She built up all the magic in her small body and managed to crack it through the top of her horn.

"OK, FLURRY! NOW!" She screamed. Flurry stopped in front of Sunlight, and the purple filly fired. A huge explosion of magic emanated throughout the room and all of the guard ponies fell off their hooves. After the explosion, Flurry went about the room and helped everypony back to their hooves. They looked at each other, blinking in the unfamiliarity of the environment.

"Where are we?" One of them asked.

"You're among friends," Flurry said. The ponies all gasped. "Princess Flurry Heart!" Another one exclaimed. They all bowed low before the filly, but she waved them off with a hoof. "Please, there's no need for that right now. We have to help Sunlight Dawn!"

"Princess Sunlight?! She's here, too?!"

"Yes, she's…" Here Flurry stopped and turned. Her mouth fell open and her lip quivered. At her hooves, she saw Sunlight's small body. She was still breathing, but she was completely unconscious. Flurry quickly directed one of the former guards to pick her up and they all galloped out of the Canterlot Castle as quickly as they could.

Meanwhile, Midnight had heard the magic explosion, and investigated. She was furious when she found that Flurry, Sunlight, and her guards had all escaped her. "Oh, how I hate that Sunlight Dawn!" She screamed. But then, she suddenly stopped short. An evil smile worked its way over her face. She realized that she still held her family and all of their friends within her trance. Their fear still kept them grounded. "Maybe…this is an opportunity for some fun."

_To be continued…_

A/N: Thank you SO MUCH for reading this story! I hope you've enjoyed it! I've enjoyed writing it so much that I've decided there will be a third chapter in the saga of Sunlight, Flurry, and Midnight. What dastardly thing will Midnight do next? Will Sunlight and Flurry be able to stop her? You'll have to read the next one to find out.


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